Divisions
by Aliet Faslami
Summary: The Student Class has taken the abuse from the Soldiers long enough. When a series of alarming events breaks their resolve, they do the unthinkable... they rise up. 3rd in the Kaalae Series. New chapter!
1. After Jendai's Banishment

This is a little bizarre. This fic comes before Collateral Damage as far as time setting goes, but I'm posting it now to sort of explain more about the Soldier/Student clashings. This is about the UPRISING OF THE STUDENT CLASS! Which you all have heard SO much about in my fics, but was never really explained. The inspiration for this fic comes from the songs "We're Forgiven" by The Calling and "Freedom Fighter" by Creed. Listen to them! They good songs!  
  
This fic is set during the time Jendai was on Earth. It begins in the after effects of his banishment, jumps to ten years later, which is when the Uprisings, and Impending Doom I took place.  
I own most of the characters in this... but I don't own any of the ones from IZ that might pop up.  
  
  
  
  
Divisions:  
An Account Of The Student Class Uprisings  
  
ONE  
(After Jendai's banishment)  
  
"Irkens do not kill one another outright. They kill subtly slowly. Soldiers, they beat you within an inch of your life and let the laws of physiology take over. Students, they will break your mind with their psychology and leave you a babbling shell, giving you no choice but to take your own life. Therefore, Students are by far the more dangerous of the two Classes of Irk."  
-Scholar Ressut Trev, 322298  
  
Why?   
The one question burned through his mind. Why? Why? Why Jendai? Darkness was all around, giving no relief from the questions giving him headaches. Lidge lay against him, the tears that exhausted her long dried, trying to drown her sorrow in dreams. Min was at his other side, also asleep, yet twitching feebly with more dreams of his banished teacher. The two sleepers were lucky his couch was so comfortable. Others had couches that were about as comfortable as Soldier beds. He had to admit, he had cried as well, once the two young ones were safely asleep, hiding away in their dreams. The pictures were too much. All the old memories had come back and nothing he'd done could keep the tears back, not even for the sake of his student and Min.   
Kaml Tikem sighed heavily, running his hands over his antennae. It had only been hours since they'd found out. Only hours since the order from a choked-sounding Tallest Purple had roused him from his perfect sleep. Only hours since their world had changed for the worse. He rubbed his eyes. Despite his growing weariness, nothing could make him sleep this night. It was all so sudden. How could you sleep when your closest friend was probably dying, lost in the vast recesses of space, or starving on some foreign wasteland?   
He paused in his reflections to take a long, sobbing gulp of yisok. The black liquid was the strongest Irken alcohol made. It was less common than ahki but more common than the Amrinae wine that the powers of the Classes preferred. He needed anything he could get. This had all been so sudden... one minute Jendai was ill, the next he was over five feet tall and being banished. He shook his head, moving on to the subsequent issue in his mind. What was he supposed to do with two students to care for? Lidge was hard enough on her own, with her blasted attitude and somewhat aggravating personality. But now he had Min to care for as well...  
The orange-eye glanced down at the gray-eyed Kaalae. The small one's tears were dried for sleep, although his tiny hands were wrapped tightly around Kaml's waist and a small holograph of Jendai. Even the mere sight of it hurt him. "How could you, Dai?" he whispered. "How could you leave this little guy all alone...? With your name to live up to?" Kaml was glad he'd taken the name Tikem. Kaalae was, oddly enough, one of the more prestigious names in the Student Class. Tikem was more... insignificant. He shrugged. His name suited him and Lidge just fine. They didn't need any fancy names to work hard, but Min... Min, Kaml wasn't sure about. How would he handle his name? Once he found out about its importance, would he disown his name? Kaml frowned at these thoughts. It wasn't his place to plan little Min's future. Things would show themselves in due time, they always did.  
He stood, careful not to disturb Lidge and Min. In the darkness, he could barely make out their sleeping forms where they lay, safely wrapped in their dreams, on his couch. Gently, Kaml gathered Lidge in his arms. Although she was almost as big as he was, the orange-eye was still able to carry her around as he had when she was small. It was somewhat comforting for them both. Lidge sighed in her sleep, unconsciously wrapping her arms around her teacher's neck, letting her head rest against his chest. A smile finally found her face. Kaml smiled back. The fact she couldn't see the expression didn't even register. He carried her into her room, weaving slightly back and forth. Lidge was heavier than he remembered her being. With even greater tenderness, he laid his student in her bed, pulling the blankets up around her chin. The teen sighed shakily, curling up with the warmth. Kaml's face creased in worry. He hated how this business had affected her. Deftly, he gave Lidge a peck on the forehead, then departed to find a room for Min. If all else failed, he could take the couch and give the little guy his bed.  
Kaml returned to the living room, eyes huge in the darkness. His antennae twitched. "Min...?" he called softly. "Min, is that you?"  
There was a slight sniffling in the darkness. "Yes..." came the soft, sleepy reply. "I'm sorry I woke you... sir."  
"Kaml. Call me Kaml," he said, taking another step towards the couch. "No formalities, kiddo. Kaml's fine." The mechanic had reached the couch by now and sat down, able to see his somewhat unwilling second student. Min's eyes were teary again, his little hands tight around the holograph clutched to his equally small, gray-clad, torso. "You okay?"  
The young Irken gave a slight nod. "Where... where did my teacher go, Kaml?" Min asked, looking down at the holograph as if it were Jendai himself. The look made Kaml's eyes begin to tear up once more.   
"I don't know..." Kaml replied quietly. "I wish I did, Min. I really do. It's... it isn't fair what happened to your teacher. None of this was his fault." He stiffened as he felt Min wrap his arms around him. Tentatively, he hugged Min back, trying to reassure him as best he could. "He'll be okay, Min..."  
Min nodded, shaking a bit. The older Irken could tell the gray-eye was trying to believe him, but with all that had happened, he was finding it difficult to. He hugged Kaml tighter, shaking increasing as much as his hold did. "Min..." Kaml murmured softly. "It's okay. Min, I'm here now. I know..." he choked. "I know I'm not what you really need, Min. I'm not your teacher. I can't be. You are a Kaalae now. I'm a Tikem." Min looked up at him, blinking. "But, I'm going to do the best I can for you, Min. Your teacher..." Once more, his throat constricted. "Jendai told me that... he told me how much you meant to him, and that if I didn't do my best to take care of you, he would be very mad at me..."  
Hearing this, the little one burst into sobs, clutching Kaml close to him, his small hands clenched into fists around the fabric of the adult's shirt. The sound triggered something in his brain and Kaml pulled Min into his lap, wrapping his arms tightly around him. Min hugged Kaml's neck, crying into his shoulder. The teacher didn't even try to silence the sobs. He knew how much Min needed to cry. Losing your teacher was one of the most devastating things a Student could experience in their lives. Losing your student was another. He sat there for a long while, holding Min in his arms, knowing well that he shouldn't be the one comforting the little one. Knowing that the one who should be holding Min was Mother of Irk knew where. An unwelcome thought appeared in Kaml's mind, something he hadn't thought of in a long while. Was Jendai alive? Did he even want to-no. He would NOT think like that. He couldn't think like that. Jendai WAS alive, DID want to remain that way. Unconsciously, he hugged Min tighter.  
They sat like that until Min eventually dropped off, the light from the last setting moon falling over his pale face. Kaml, moving carefully, carried the sleeping Student to the adult's room. There wasn't another room for Min yet. He'd make one in the morning. There just wasn't time or patience now. The couch would be fine for a grown Irken like him. Gently, he lay Min down and drew the blankets around him. A quick glace around showed the gray-eye had forgotten the holograph. With a soft smile, Kaml returned it to him, sighing to himself as he saw how tightly Min held it. Poor little guy...  
He retreated back to the living room, keeping his back to his room. A glance back there would surely only bring tears. Kaml sighed shakily, indecision plain on his dark green face. He knew what he should do... yet he dreaded doing it. The console hummed idly, its panels cool under his gloved fingers. He knew the frequency by heart and he relaxed, letting his fingers tap it out almost by themselves. "Sending Call" scrolled by the screen, followed by a soft beep to let him know the other end had been reached. Kaml took a deep breath and leaned back in his chair.   
Regert was going to kill him.  
  
It was the persistent beeping of his console that snapped Regert Shrig out of his deep slumber. With a growl of annoyance, the Boss of West Jihi slid out of bed, glancing at the clock. "Mother of..." the curse trailed off as he shook his head, dead antennae flapping in his face. Faintly, he heard Wikki cough in the dark. Regert frowned. His little student had developed the cough sometime in the night and had awoken him in fear. Her panic was part of the reason he was so tired. Ah well... it was a teacher's life, and something he was glad to be a part of. Dragging his stocky frame across the room, Regert had a few more moments to growl before punching the receive button. "Shrig here," he muttered, hauling himself into the seat. "And whoever you are, do you have any idea what time of the morning it is?"  
"Sir, I'm sorry... but, I... I needed to talk to you."  
He looked up. "Tikem...?" Regert squinted at the exhausted face with the orange eyes. "Kaml, what happened to you? Is Lidge all right?"  
The dark green head nodded slowly. Kaml looked terrible. His eyes were swollen with old tears, deep circles lining them, etched there from lack of sleep. He kept running his hands over his antennae, his fingers twitching as if he expected something to leap out of the darkness and drag him off. "It's not Lidge," his voice was soft, sobbing even. Kaml took a deep breath, flexing his fingers. "It's... it's... Jendai."  
The statement made Regert blink in surprise. "Jendai?" he asked, confused. Last he'd heard of the blue-eye, he was still far too ill to come to work. He panicked. "Kaml, what happened to him? Is he still sick!? Did he get worse?" Silence from the other end of the line. "Kaml! Tell me what's happened to Jendai!"  
"They banished him!"  
For a while, all Regert could do was stare at the distraught Irken before him. He could barely find the voice to even stammer out his questions. "Wh-why!?" he finally managed, his normally deep voice cracking. "Why...?"  
Kaml swallowed, fighting back his emotions long enough to explain about Leeri, the serum, Jendai's sudden growth, the Coalition... and finally, the banishment. Throughout the explanation, Regert felt a tide of anger rising along with panic and the horrible feeling of betrayal that can only come from when something you cared for so dearly was taken from you. He felt helpless. Jendai... was... banished...? It was just barely sinking in. His best mechanic, his drinking buddy, little Min's new-  
"Where's Min?" Regert asked suddenly. It was an instantaneous reaction that would have come from any teacher. "Is he back in a Nursery?"   
"No... no," the mechanic's head shook violently. "I... I have him now. Jendai... he asked me to take care of him." He bit his lip. "Jen... Jendai gave Min his name before he was... before we had to leave."   
Regert stared once again. "He did what!?" What a burden for such a young one to carry! Being the sole survivor of the name... If only Daske wasn't dead... She could have taken Min instead of Kaml, and left the single student per teacher norm alone. But, no! Jendai had to go and... It was too late now. He couldn't blame Jendai for this. It was Leeri's fault. Her and that blasted Coalition's. Before Kaml could speak, Regert calmed himself and went on. "Never mind that... How's everyone doing over there?"  
"Coping," Kaml breathed. "Lidge is taking this a lot harder than I thought she would. And Min is just a basket case. Other than that... other than that we're okay."  
"Kaml..." Regert began, a warning note to his bass voice. "that's not everything. You can tell me. I'm not going to fire you just because you're having problems with the fact he's been banished."  
The orange eyes narrowed at something off screen, antennae flicking inwards. Regert folded his arms. If there was one thing he hated, it was Students who tried-usually unconsciously-to be more like Soldiers. To hold back their emotions when others were near them. It irritated him. "I... I don't want to... talk here," Kaml finally snapped, careful not to look Regert in the eye. His antennae lay back as he said this, showing submission to his superior, although his tone denied the gesture. "Not right now."  
His boss nodded. "I understand, Kam. But you know..."  
"I know what you're going to say, and with all due respect Sir, don't." The orange eye put his head in his hands. "I can't talk here... Lidge and Min are asleep and I know I'm going to start screaming... and if I start screaming, they'll wake up and it'll all be a mess and..." He sighed heavily. "Mother of... what am I gonna do Regert...? I have two students! Two! That's more than any of us have ever had before!"  
Regert looked at him straight. "Kaml, relax. Lidge is going to be on her own in a few years, then all you'll have is Min! It won't be that big a deal."  
"But it is a big deal!" The panicked, orange eyes sought the serene red ones. "Regert! I'm teaching a KAALAE!! A Tikem is teaching a KAALAE! That's like... oh, I dunno... a Karre teaching an Aman!"  
"Kaml! Calm down!" The sharp rebuke stopped the rant instantly. "Kam, please... relax... You'll wake them up." Regert cast a glance over his shoulder towards Wikki's room. "Listen, take the day off tomor-today, and meet me and Shil in Pikard's at... nine. Okay?" Kaml nodded. "Lidge can take care of Min, Wikki and Cerol." Another nod. "And Kaml? Get some sleep. That's an order."  
  
He had slept. Finally, after a long while of staring at the dark console, his head had rolled on his neck, eyelids forcing themselves shut. The blissful oblivion had barely lasted an hour before the console and the glare of sunlight woke Kaml once more.   
"Kam... me. You... etter have ...line ope..."   
Orange eyes flashed open. He jumped, pressing buttons frantically to open his end to communications. The other end was cluttered with static but there was no mistaking that smooth tenor. "Jendai!" he nearly shouted. How the blue-eyed Irken was able to contact him was beyond his comprehension, but right now, Kaml was in no mood to question his fortune. "Where are you? I can barely hear you!"  
"Sam... ere, Kam," Jendai called from the other end, sounding relieved. Kaml felt his eyes tear up again. Mother of Irk... if only the transmission wasn't so broken! "Listen... off-planet... Gon... ake me six... nths to... et wher... m going. ...just wan... to... ell yo... throw a... ittle... arty six-mo... om now." Kaml fought back sobs. It was so terrible to hear that voice try and cheer him through its own despair. "Drink... lot for... ee."  
This choked a forced laugh from the orange-eye's throat. "Sure thing, Jendai." He sighed, glancing over into the room where Lidge slept. "Lidge misses you already. She won't stop crying." He heard a faint sigh. Poor Jendai. He had to say something to cheer him up a bit. "Min's okay, so far. But, Regert's throwing a fit." Kaml sighed. This wasn't working. Maybe if he joked a bit... tell a white lie... "Tallest said you're an Invader for your skills is why you're leaving. Students don't believe them." He bit his lip. "Hope you live through the trip, Dai."  
"...anks." A gusty sigh. "Can't... alk lo... Kam... Get blas... oo bi... But, mo... Irk, yo... hould see ...up here..." Jendai sounded awed.  
"Beautiful, eh?" Kaml asked, smiling.  
"Ore... an... imagine." There was a slight pause. Kaml waited patiently, hoping nothing was wrong. "...ould you... ell Lidge... omethi... or me?"  
That was unexpected. Kaml blinked, but replied. "You want me to write it down?" he asked, readying a datapad. He was a little nervous. What would Jendai want to tell his student?  
Jendai was silent for a bit. When he spoke, the combination of static and how soft his voice was made it doubly hard to hear him. "...Ever you... ant," he finally replied flippantly. "Jus... ell her tha... I'm sor... hat this... ad... happen...fore I go... see her get out... your place."  
"That all?" Kaml asked, surprised. Jendai must feel awful. But to call to merely to say that...  
There was a long silence. "Tell... er... at I knew... at she... going to sa-" With a hiss of static that overpowered the rest, Jendai was cut off. Kaml stared for a moment before hurriedly pressing buttons, trying to get the line open once more. "Close this transmission, Student!" a Soldier snapped, face appearing on the screen. "The Irken whom you were speaking to has been banished! Get your idiotic self off the line before you are imprisoned!"  
"Kiss my green arse!" Kaml snapped, flicking his antennae inwards. Before the Soldier could respond, he turned off the console. It was morning now. Probably the middle of the day. As far as he could tell, both young mechanics still slept. Dimly, he remembered Regert telling him to take the day off... Sleep. Yes, sleep was good. He needed to be alert for tonight, when he had to break the news to Shil Haye.   
He all but fell out of the chair. So tired... his eyelids threatened to snap shut, even when he was walking. The couch was more comfortable than he recalled, he decided, allowing himself to slip back into an unconscious stupor once more.   
  
Pikard's Bar.   
Just a few blocks away from West Jihi. It was constantly crowded with Students, all trying to forget their troubles in whatever pleased their tongues and clouded their minds at the same time. A dim, smoky place, where music always played, either on speakers or from those who sang drunkenly. Soldiers never came. If they did, they were instantly driven out by the masses of Students. There was a close feeling of unity in the small building. Your past or your current problems didn't matter as long as your credit was good. It was two stories tall, almost hiding among the other buildings. The top floor was glass, allowing those above to look down and vice versa. Below, the floor was a giant grate, to let spilled drinks drain out. The bar was on the bottom floor, a large, computerized automation that was voice-activated and could serve hundreds at once. It even gave advice-providing you tipped enough to whatever Irken servers there were. All in all, it was a mechanic's haven for alcohol, lonely females or males, and idle chatter away from any Soldier intrusion.  
When Kaml arrived, Regert and Shil had already reserved their usual booth corner. The orange-eye slid onto the hard bench, across from Shil and next to Regert. Shil Haye was one of the smallest workers at West Jihi, standing at 2'11". Respected for her sometimes alluring nature and swift work, the female was one of the more influential Irkens in the shop. She was quite a contrast. Eyes as green as Kaml's skin with skin so pale a green she could pass for an albino, albeit it was marred by burn scars from her working style. Wry as they came, she was able to actually slip inside a machine and tweak it around to perfection. Shil gave Kaml a sad smile. "Regert told me, Kam," she said over the shouts of others speaking or singing. "It'll be okay eventually, eh?"   
He nodded at her. "Mother of Irk I hope so..."  
Regert leaned his elbows on the slightly sticky, plastic table, examining the small ordering console each table or bar seat had. "Shil, you had something you wanted to say also?" he prompted, obviously trying to steer the conversation away from the topic of banishment. "Ahki all?"  
"Half half," Shil replied. When Regert stared at her, she elaborated. "Half yisok, half ahki." The boss nodded and punched in the order. "Anyway," Shil began, picking at a fry that had somehow adhered to the tabletop. "Y'both know about how Cerol's been having problems with that eye of his."   
The nodded. Shil's student, a dark-blue eyed youngster named Cerol, had been seeing spots in one of his eyes lately. The little male had been to more med centers than anyone in West Jihi about it, but nothing had been found. Very recently, he'd begun to lose all sight in that eye from time to time. It was disturbing.  
"I took him in before I dropped him off with Lidge," Shil continued, still picking mindlessly at the fry. "Those moronic med workers finally found the problem..." She broke off as the drinks came. Each of them tasted theirs to make sure it was correct before she picked up the story again. "Cerol is going blind in that eye." Both males looked up, startled. Shil sighed. "Apparently, it's in his genes and just started showing up now... they say he'll be totally blind in that eye either tomorrow or the day after." Her head sank miserably into her small hands, antennae falling back against her head. "If he can't work after this happens... I don't know what I'm going to do. He can't stay with me forever... I just hope he'll be able to work with only one eye."  
Regert wrapped a thick arm around her small shoulders. "It's gonna be okay, little girl," he comforted. "I've seen Irkens operate things bigger than the Tallest with only one arm... Certainly, Cerol'd be okay with just one eye."  
"And Regert's so fat it should be considered a disability, but look at him, he's our boss," Kaml said with a half-smile. He sipped his ahki casually as Regert shot him a mock-glare.   
The little female sighed heavily. "Thanks guys," she muttered. "But, that's not what's worrying me the most."  
Both twitched their antennae in confusion. "What is it, then?" Kaml asked.  
"Kaml..." Shil looked up at him helplessly. "the med workers said this was in his genes... Kam, Regert... it's a genetic defect..."  
They stared.   
Genetic defect...?   
That was almost unheard of in Irken society. All unborn infants were scanned to see if there were any such defects, and if there were, they were corrected before they were even born. If they weren't corrected, the infants weren't activated. That was just how things worked. No defects. But, here was a defect, staring them straight in the face with a single blind testimony to the truth. The males grasped for a solution, something probable. More probable than what they were now thinking.   
"Maybe the scanners missed Cerol..." Regert murmured, looking a little pale. He took a hasty gulp of the ahki.  
"That's something we can all hope for, eh?" Shil sighed unhappily. "It's what I keep telling myself... 'The scanners missed him Shil, the scanners missed'. Mother of Irk knows it ain't working..."  
"Of course it's not," a new voice piped up. "It never has been. We've all just been too blind to notice it."  
The West Jihans turned to see who spoke to them. Pale yellow eyes stared back at them over a glass of yisok, the thick, black drink half chugged down. The owner of the eyes was scrawny, rangy-looking, and stood about 3'3". His clothing marked him for a mechanic. They stared a moment at his antennae. Both were bent down at the ends in an almost feminine way, tips pointing limply to the top of his head. "Gymar Karre," he introduced himself with a slick smile. "Boss of North Chlan Workshop."  
"Regert Shrig," the red-eye said, putting a hand forward. The two clasped their fingers around the other's wrist before continuing. "Boss of West Jihi." He gestured to the two beside him. "Kaml Tikem and Shil Haye." They nodded to Gymar. "Employees."  
The slick grin returned as Gymar slid himself into the seat beside Shil. Shil cast him a rather annoyed glance before shifting closer to Regert, her antennae flicking. "Didn't mean to interrupt," Gymar apologized, giving a slight, grating purr. "but I heard you speaking about genetic defects and..." A gloved hand tapped one of his antennae. "Seeing as I have such a noticeable one, I wanted to speak with you."  
Regert nodded slightly. "That's understandable. What did you want to say, Geye-mar?"  
"It's Guy-mar, sir," the other boss responded respectfully. He cast another glance at Shil, smiling slyly. "Miss Haye, I fear your student is not alone in his defect. There are many, many others like him." The pale eyes narrowed. "They are barely noticeable until the gene with the deformity kicks in. In my case, when my antennae began to grow. In your student's case, perhaps his eyes were growing. Basically, whenever the gene is needed, the deformity will show itself."  
Kaml narrowed his own eyes. He disliked this Gymar. It had mostly to do with his oily nature, and little to do with the name Karre. Karres were lower than Tikems when it came to the status of their name. Karres were the ones who went to lower-class places for drinks or a cheap look at females. They were often fired, and drifted from job to job, trying to fit in wherever they could. He felt disgusted that the mechanic profession was defiled by such an Irken as a Karre. Despite himself, his antennae tipped inward. "Why haven't we heard anything about this, if it's so bad?" he asked guardedly, taking a sip of his ahki as the pale yellow eyes flicked at him.  
"Because, Kaml Tick-em," Gymar responded, stressing the incorrect pronunciation. Apparently, he'd noticed Kaml's narrowed eyes and flicked antennae. "the Tallest want to cover it up. They want to pretend it is not happening. They do not want us to know so that there will be less violence against us from the Soldiers."  
"How does that work?"   
Gymar sat back. He obviously hadn't anticipated Kaml's quick question and needed a moment to think up an answer. Shil had moved even closer to Regert, both of them shooting the yellow-eye a slightly annoyed look. Gymar finally shrugged. "Maybe they feel that if the Soldiers don't know, they won't harm us so much," he said dismissively. "I don't know for sure."  
Dark green eyes fixed him with another look of annoyance. "How do you know this?" Shil snapped, flexing her fingers around her half half. The blue-black liquid sloshed a bit inside. "Got good inside sources or something, eh?"  
A chorus of cheers stopped-or rather, saved-Gymar from answering. All eyes flicked to the door, where a new group had entered Pikard's. Five or six Irkens strode in, waving to the whistles they got. Each was dressed in the tan skirt or pants of a scholar, while one wore a long, tan cape around her thin shoulders. It was her, the caped female that most of the cheers were aimed for. A few males stood up to give her drunken salutes, which she laughed gently at before continuing on. Regert stood up on the bench and, cupping his hands around his mouth, bellowed in his coarse bass voice.   
"Well, well! Look what the voot dragged up!"  
The caped female turned to face him, light blue eyes glinting with mirth. She broke into a huge grin as her eyes locked with the red of Regert's. "Regert Shrig!" she called back, planting slender hands on her tan-clad hips. "About time you showed your sorry skin to my face again!"  
Regert laughed. "Get over here, you saucy scholar!" he ordered, sitting back down. "You need a lesson on how to treat your tallers!"   
"Tisk tisk Regert!" she teased, approaching them with a graceful stride that sent her cape floating behind her. "You know I outrank you now!" As she came to their table, Kaml graciously stood, moving a bit reluctantly over to sit beside Gymar. She smiled dazzlingly at him before sitting close to Regert who scooted over. "How are you, you fat old thing?" she asked playfully, poking his chest with one long finger.  
He hugged her tightly, giving her a chaste kiss before responding. "I'm perfect, now you're here. Irk, Swar Aman... Mother of... I never thought I'd see you again!" the boss exclaimed, holding one of her delicate hands. "It's been years!"  
Swar Aman. Scholar and teacher to Kasden Aman, who was now installed in the position of Almighty Tallest. She wore the cape as a reminder to all who she was, and who she had raised. Scholar, teacher and previous lover of Regert. Kaml wasn't sure what exactly had made the two separate-or how far their love had gone, but he had a theory that their split had something to do with Kasden's sudden Tallest positioning. Most Students looked up to her, loved her for putting one of their own up as Tallest, and respected her for her grace and wisdom. It was a rumor that she had taken a second student. Kaml had never seen the new Aman himself. This was the first time he'd seen Swar herself since she and Regert had broken things off. She knew him.   
"I know it has, love," she said sadly. It surprised Kaml she still called him that, and vice versa. "But I had to... you know that... what with Kas and everything..." Swar paused while Regert slipped his arm around her. "But, let's not speak of such upsetting matters her." She batted her eyelashes at Regert. "Amrinae? Please love?"  
He nodded, punching in her order. Gymar eyed her, his eyes running over every contour of her body. Thankfully, Swar was too preoccupied by Regert to notice the yellow-eyed male. She looked near tears with the joy of seeing him again. Her amrinae came, light green with little bubbles drifting in it. It was when she lifted a hand to take it that her gaze came to rest on Gymar's "appraising" eyes. Coolly, Swar Aman stared back, giving him mild little blinks. "May I help you?" she asked.  
"Swar... Swar Aman..." Gymar purred. "Perfection among scholars..."  
"That is quite nice of you to say, Gymar Karre," she answered. "But I must advise you to cease looking at where you are looking. As you can see, I am taken by Regert Shrig and it would be wise of you to not make such passes at me." Very calmly, Swar took a small drink of the amrinae, smiling as the bubbles sparked on her tongue.  
Shil spoke up. "We were in an interesting conversation before you arrived, Swar. Have you heard anything about genetic defects appearing recently?" she asked, leaning around Regert to see Swar better.   
The scholar tensed. "Yes," she breathed. Her good mood vanished. "I... I have..."  
"Love?" Regert asked, tightening his hold on her. "What's wrong?"  
Trembling, too-delicate hands lifted the amrinae to Swar's lips again, relaxing as the liquor soothed her nerves somewhat. "Shil," she began, biting her lip. "Kam, Love..." Swar looked at the three mechanics in turn, ignoring Gymar. "It's been happening... so much more since Soldiers rose to power..." She shook again. As a scholar, Swar kept the birth records of all Irkens as a part of her job, logging the data from the Hatcheries into the large databases. She knew almost all the Hatchery workers did... Including if there were any missed genetic defects. "The workers assigned to Student Hatcheries are so nervous about Soldier guards popping up behind them since their rise, that they miss things..." She lowered her voice. "They've even reported Soldier tampering with the scanners... and once they come back, they find irreparable damage to the scanning systems." Swar's light blue eyes filled with tears. "I hate it!" she exclaimed suddenly. "Mother of Irk, I hate it so much! I sit there, not being able to do anything while hundreds walk around with possibly life-threatening defects!" She put her head in her hands, shoulders shaking.  
"Oh, Swar..." Regert held her tightly against her tears. "Shhh... it's okay, Love..."  
Shil bit her lip too, knowing her poor Cerol was one of those Swar felt so awful about. Shoving Gymar away, Kaml slid beside her, putting his hand on the small female's to help ease her discomfort. Shil looked up, startled, then grinned. "Such a gent'man, eh Kam?" she said softly, laying her head on his shoulder. They watched Swar and Regert, ignoring Gymar. "I'm so sorry about Jendai, Kaml..." Shil murmured. "It's not fair that everything happens to us Students..."  
"I know," he sighed. "We'll be okay eventually... Someday, we'll be level with them..."  
She smiled. "You and 'Dai... Both such dreamers."  
Gymar, sat ignored and snubbed, until Regert narrowed his eyes. "Don't you have a student who needs you?" he asked.  
"The little thing can care for himself for a night..." Gymar hissed. But, recognizing the dismissal, he left. Orange eyes watched him go with relief. "Blasted Karre..." Kaml muttered, removing one arm from Shil to finish off his ahki. He was more than glad to see the yellow-eye's retreating back. Something about his manner was too shifty... He was about to replace his arm when Shil stiffened, staring at something in the crowd that had gathered as the night progressed. Regert and Swar looked also, antennae pricking.   
"Teacher Haye!" an oddly deep voice called in a panic.  
"Kam!" a female voice, older than the first.  
"Kaml!" another male voice, this one with the slight slur of youth.  
Shil and Kaml rose as one, moving out in the crowd to the source of those voices. They heard the other two not far behind them. The foursome shoved through the crowd, calling back to the three voices. It didn't take them long. Trapped in the doorway by a few adults, Min, Lidge and Cerol stood resolutely watching for them. Seeing their teachers, the three pressed forward, Lidge helping lead Cerol along. Already, the left eye of the young Student was turning an eerie, milky green. He kept turning his head all around to see his surroundings, the right eye, dark blue in color, gazing at the bar patrons. Kaml heard Swar's surprised intake of breath behind him. "Lidge?" he called, pushing through a few stubborn Irkens. "What's wrong?"  
"Where's Wikki?" Regert demanded, his antenna twitching. He held onto Swar nervously. "You didn't leave her back at Kaml's did you?"  
Lidge paled. As the tallest of the three students, she was somewhat required to speak up. "She... she's at a med center, Sir," she stammered, letting her antennae slick back in submission. Min clung to her black skirt nervously, while Cerol stood at her left, attentive. Gathering courage from them, she continued. "We were playing a game when she suddenly fell over coughing... the computer didn't know what was wrong, so we called the med team and got over here..." She was trembling.   
Their teachers swept forward. Kaml and Shil taking the students in their arms before following their boss and his scholar out the door. Moments later, the sound of voot runners lifting off was heard as a small fleet of an orange, red, green, and a light blue runner roared through the Irken night.  
"And so, it begins..." murmured Gymar Karre from his seat, yellow eyes gazing intensely at the empty doorway.   
  
Well... nice cliffhanger eh? R&R! 


	2. Thou Shalt Not Kill

Irkens belong to Jhonen, as does Zim! Most of the characters are mine. So are the Student and Soldier Classes. DOOM!  
  
II  
Thou Shalt Not Kill...  
  
Another day, gone. Passed down into the oblivion of wherever time went once it's duty was done. Never to return. The moons had arisen, three crescents high in the night sky. Their silver light dripped down coolly over the still-awake planet, giving a surreal mood to the hours of darkness. Lights from the huge capitol city glared alarmingly back, almost in a struggle for supremacy. Which one would win and at what cost was, and would always be, undecided. Weaving between the overly-bright buildings, not even contesting with the moons or city lights, were transports. Voot runners carrying their owners home, cruisers on patrol, supply vehicles to places unknown and just about anything else you could imagine skimmed along.   
Sen grinned down at the city, its lights glinting off of his blue-green eyes. He was currently off-duty. Taking a moment to enjoy the glory of being a Soldier and being tall enough to become an Elite Guard was usually what he did on his off-duty hours. But, what he was currently doing would have gotten him thrown off the Guard completely. No one was around to enter the Tallests' personal audience chamber, and no one would without permission from the Tallest themselves. Sen stood on the Tallest's platform, having eliminated the purple half with a few malicious pushes of a button on the wall. Now, instead of there being two of everything, there was one. It was all a brilliant red and Sen ruled over it.  
In the darkness, windows allowing the warring combination of moonlight and city light to enter, the Elite Guard presided over a multitude of invisible Irkens. He was their Tallest. The single, most powerful being in the Empire. Sen grinned broader. "My loyal subjects," he began, voice ringing out over the imagined assembly. "I have a new decree which you all must follow." He paused for the invented cheering from the Irkens who weren't there. "As of this moment... all Students with genetic defects are to be killed. As are those Hatchery workers who allowed this heinous crime to be committed."   
"Do you really think that is fair... 'Tallest' Sen?"   
The Guard whirled around, startled by the slightly mocking voice, his hand going for his blaster. Eyes of dark red met his blue-green defects. Sen glared. "What are you doing here, Rael?" he snapped. "Aren't you supposed to be off watching some hapless soul who's only doing his job?"  
Rael only shrugged. "That is what I'm doing," the other Soldier replied calmly. Rael was one of the most trusted Soldiers of the Empire. He was a member of the mysterious "special forces," a Captain to be exact. Like Sen, he wore a mask over the lower half of his face; it was part of the dress code for those in close service with the Tallest. Rumor had it that he was trained in everything any Irken could be trained in. Along with a standard Soldier uniform and mask, he wore a long, red cloak that trailed out behind him. There was another rumor that he could become invisible by wrapping himself in it. He took orders from no one except the Tallest themselves, and no one knew much about him. His height constantly seemed to change, being one thing one moment, and the next he'd be three inches taller. At his side, there was usually an odd-looking SIR at his side, but tonight it was absent. "I am checking on my fellow Soldiers, Sen. And, I am quite curious as to what exactly you're doing."  
"It is not your concern," Sen snarled. "It is my business."  
"It will become the Tallest's business if you fail to explain why the purple side has been removed from this room." The simplicity of this quieted Sen's protest. "As for what I am doing here," Rael continued. "I have just completed a meeting with our esteemed leaders, and am returning to my barracks for the night." An innocent, sideways tilt of the head. "This way just happened to be faster. Now. I have explained my reason for being here, therefore I feel it is time you explained yourself as well."  
The Guard didn't answer. He only stalked over to the wall panel and pressed the same buttons he'd used to erase the purple. Almost instantly, the room returned to normal. "Better, O mighty Rael?" he asked, folding his arms.  
Dark red eyes narrowed. "Why do you come here to do these things, Sen?" asked Rael calmly. Another thing about Rael that was odd. He rarely spoke in anything but a smooth, calm voice that either relaxed you or annoyed you to no end. Sen found it highly annoying. "Do you enjoy imagining the death of the other Class that much?"  
Sen stalked down to a window, folding his arms behind his back, acting as if he had not heard. His shoulders were hunched, antennae flicked in angrily. Rael remained standing at the top of the platform. "They are weak, Rael," the Guard finally snapped, not turning around. "Weak little worms who crawl around, whining about how important they are to this Empire when all they do is make things and ridicule those who protect them!" He glared down at the still-busy city. "WE are the superior ones Rael... why should we not take the liberty of culling those who are especially weak? WE are the ones who should have the privileges they do! They should serve us! Not the other way around!"  
Taking in what the other had said, Rael sadly closed his eyes, shaking his head. "Irkens serve only those taller than them," Rael said, leaning against the podium. "Sen, no Irken should think like that," he murmured. "No Irken should wish death upon so many innocent Irkens..."  
"How quaint," Sen barked, with a forced laugh. "That coming from someone who assassinates for a living."  
"At least I have a purpose for what I do. What you and your little band is doing Sen, is far worse than anything I have ever done..." Rael's voice was steel. "What you are doing is inexcusable."  
The back of the Elite Guard stiffened. His antennae jerked upright as he spun to face the disturbing calm of Rael. "What!?" was all that would come from Sen's lips.  
Serenely, Capt. Rael of the Special Forces approached Sen, each tap of his boots echoing softly in the large room. He did not say a word. Frightened for once of this strange Soldier, Sen pressed up against the window, his hand going for the blaster at his hip. As he did so, Rael's hand shot out, grabbing his wrist in a death grip. He loomed over the panicked Sen, dark red eyes narrowed threateningly. "I know," he said quietly, hissing a bit despite his control. "I know what it is you and your group is doing to the Students. I know everything about it. Who's involved. How long it's gone on. What exactly you all are plotting. Why you're doing it in the first place. I know what you hope the outcome will be. Mother of Irk, I know everything, Sen."  
Blue-green eyes narrowed. "I don't believe you!" he hissed loudly, writhing in the taller, stronger Irken's grip. "You speak lies, Rael!"  
"Do I?" He shoved Sen up against the glass roughly, grabbing the other's mask and ripping it down. Sen snarled. "It is because of those eyes of yours, Sen, that you are going to kill Tallest know how many innocents! It is out of hatred for those who accidentally missed YOUR defect that you bring this idiocy down on those who don't deserve it!"  
"Student-lover!" Sen growled. "You defile your Class with your love for and devotion to protecting those infantile worms!" He writhed once more. "It IS their own fault this is happening! Their own laziness in the Hatcheries! Once the Tallest find out about how many defects there are in the Student Cla-"  
Rael dropped him. A haunted, troubled look had taken hold in his eyes. "I cannot stop this madness in your head, Sen..." he said sadly. "But, I swear to you that if I find out you're keeping it up, going through with your twisted little plots, I will stop you. This information will find its way into Tallest Purple's hands... and I doubt he will be as powerless against you as I." In a swish of cloak, the other Soldier left before he did any physical harm to Sen.   
Alone in the dark. Finally, blissfully alone. Sen leaned heavily against the window, trembling. He took several long, calming breaths. His communicator beeped. One last breath puffed out. "Sen," he hissed into the com-link. "What is it?"  
"SIR!" the other end said. "We have a small problem involving the project."  
"Take care of it. You know what to do."  
"Yes sir!"  
  
Boots paced along the sanitized corridor. Four hours... four hours and still none of them had been told what was wrong or if they could even see little Wikki. Their presence was known by all, the insistent tap of mechanic's boots making it clear they were not leaving until they got word. Kaml handed out cups of iaka, a drink that cleared the mind and perked the senses. It was a typical drink one had when you needed to stay awake for an extended period of time. The two adult females accepted theirs gratefully, while Regert waved him off. The boss was more than awake enough as it was. His face was pale, his single antennae slicked back against his head, his movements tense and rigid. Kaml finally slumped against the wall, worn out by his boss's fear combined with his own. The rest of the group was seated in small, hard chairs outside of the room they were keeping Wikki in. Swar was cradling little Min in her arms, letting him rest his head on her chest. The gray eyes were closed in sleep. Cerol sat beside Shil, the latter gazing intently into the former's milky eye. The student's head was sagging on his neck as he struggled to stay awake. Shil had taken one of his gloved hands in hers and was comfortingly clutching it tight in strong fingers. Beside Kaml, Lidge hugged her knees to her chest, resting her head against the bony joints.  
"What's happening, Kam?" she asked softly. Her voice was muffled by the positioning of her head.   
Her teacher shrugged helplessly. "They haven't told us anything, Lidgers..." Kaml sat down on the floor, hugging Lidge tightly. She shook. "It's going to be fine, little one," he assured her. "No matter what, the meds are going to make sure Wikki will be fine."  
"I guess," was all he got in response for his comforts. "This is awful, Kam," Lidge murmured into her teacher's shirt. "'Dai's gone forever, Min's prob'ly traumatized or something, and now poor Wikki's sick... Why do I get the feeling this is my fault...?"  
"Lidge..." Kaml gently pried her head out of its position, looking into her wide magenta eyes. She blinked nervously up at him. "Why would it be your fault? Regert said she had a cough even before he brought her over. There's no way it could be your fault. Please, Lidgers, don't blame yourself... that's the stupidest thing any one of us could do right now." She nodded, re-burying her face in his arms. "It's gonna be okay..." he whispered, rocking his student gently. Who cared if she was almost an adult? She needed him.   
Watching them hurt. Holding Min hurt. It was a constant reminder of what Swar Aman had lost. A first student was... almost sacred. Even if the teacher were assigned a new one, the bond would never be as strong as it had been with the first. To lose your first student, to disease or otherwise, was heartbreaking. But, add to that, seeing him almost everywhere, everyday, and knowing you would never do as she was doing for Min again... Swar brushed her gloved fingers across her eyes almost angrily. No. Not now. She shouldn't be thinking of Kas now. She should be comforting Regert. Although, not a day went by when she didn't wonder how this had happened. Why Kas?   
Min stirred in her hold, whimpering slightly. Startled from her thoughts, the scholar nearly jumped, but calmed once Min settled back down against her. "Poor little one," she murmured. Glancing at Kaml, who caught her look and nodded, Swar ran her fingers lightly over little Min's antennae. At the soft, relaxing touch, the youngster purred in his sleep. A smile came to his face. Swar sighed. A teacher-less Kaalae... He couldn't be returned to the Nursery and reassigned. Not after he had been given his teacher's name. According to what she had been told, he was to be taught by Kaml after his original student moved out. Until then... no one was sure of his fate until then. "You're lost, little Kaalae," Swar said to the sleeping child. "What will happen to you now? You're suspended between two teachers... one who's too far away for you to ever see again, and the other who can't even begin to care for you how you need it..." She sighed. "What are we going to do with you, hmm?"  
His only response was to twitch his antennae faintly and curl closer to Swar.  
"Are you sure you can still see me with that eye? How many fingers?"  
"Yes, and two."  
"Now?"  
"Four."  
"Now?"  
"Six."  
"What color are Swar's eyes?"  
Mismatched eyes blinked. The lighter, left eye strained. "Gray?" Cerol ventured, his too-deep voice squeaking a bit, making it sound higher with the question. "Are they gray? Or blue gray? I... I can't tell, Teacher Haye."  
Shil paled. "Cerol, what color are my eyes?" she asked, putting her hands on his shoulders to turn his head to her. "Tell me... not from memory. What color do you see?" Her voice was fluttery with a sudden fear.  
"Black..." was the reply. His dark blue eye was closed as the left labored to see the color of his teacher's eyes. "No, they're not black!" Now he was frightened. "Teacher Haye! They're not black! They're green! What's happening to me?" Terrified, he grabbed Shil's hand, fingers tightening around it. Shil looked at him helplessly. He was nine years of age, and already taller than his teacher. Taller and longer in the leg, arm, torso... he was going to be tall when he grew up. But now, he was just a frightened, young mechanic who needed his teacher. Shil held out her arms for him. Almost instantly, she was grabbed in a tight hug while her student shook fearfully in her arms.   
"Shhh," Shil murmured soothingly. "It's okay, babe. You're going blind in that eye, remember? It's okay... just probably one of those things that happens when someone goes blind..." She stroked his antennae. "It'll be okay. I'll help you. Always will."  
He nodded weakly. "Don't ever go away, Teacher Haye... not even when I'm old. Promise?" Cerol's frightened eyes looked up at her pleadingly. "I'm gonna need help..."  
"Of course you will. And I'll be the one to help you. That's what teachers are for, eh?"  
"Poor Min..." Cerol mumbled into her chest. "He doesn't have a teacher to help him... He'll need one..."  
Shil nodded, still soothing her student with smooth movements of her hand over his antennae. "We all do at some point. Don't you worry about Min, Cerol. Enough of us are already. You just worry about getting that eye of yours up to par with the rest of the blind Irkens out there." She wasn't about to tell him that there weren't any other blind Irkens in the Empire.  
Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap. The endless drone of Regert's boots against the tiles was the only thing the little group to tell the passing of time. The boss's movements were tense, fearful, as he paced, waiting for any word on his baby of a student. Every so often, he'd look towards the room behind them, where Wikki was, in hopes some news would come. Two more hours went by with no word. Thoughts flew through the red-eye's troubled mind. Was she dying? What was happening to her now? Would he ever see his little Wikki work? Regert clenched his fists. Whatever happened to her, he'd made up his mind about what he wanted to do. After all, if Jendai had done it, why couldn't he? There was no penalty, as it wasn't against any Student Laws. It was just... not done.   
For the hundredth time in the past hour, he leaned his elbows against the opaque window of the room. It could be clearer or more opaque depending on who was inside it, and if the med workers wanted you to see the occupant. Right now, it was nearly as white as the walls. Obviously, something was so wrong with Wikki that they didn't even risk other med workers seeing her.   
That frightened him.  
The Boss of West Jihi, who had stared generals of the Soldier Class in the face, laughed at them, and survived. The Boss who had stood before the Tallest, both Solider and Student, and dared to love Swar Aman. That very same Boss was scared because he couldn't see his baby student through a window. A gentle hand rubbed his shoulder comfortingly, fingers working through the obvious tenseness. "Love?" It was Swar. "You're crying..."  
"I am?" Regert gingerly touched his cheeks. Indeed, tears were running down their green sides. "Oh... I am... Aren't I? Odd. I hadn't noticed..." His hands clenched on the windowsill.   
"Love..." Swar murmured, tightening her hold on his shoulder. She still held Min, cradled in one arm, and was rocking him gently. Her free hand brushed the rest of the tears from his face. Regert stared at her. He knew how much it had to hurt her, to hold Min like that. How much it hurt her to hold another student, one almost like the one she had lost to the position of Tallest. "Regert... she's going to be okay... Not one more of us should lose someone. Too many of us have. We've all lost Jendai. Min especially. Shil's losing a part of her Cerol. I've lost Kas forever. You can't lose her." Her light eyes were clouded with tears, the face they were set in so very close to his tearstained one. He needed her. Regert's arms wrapped tightly around her waist, pulling her closer with the snoring Min between them. "You... just... can't..." Swar whispered, leaning in closer to him.   
"I hope to the Mother of Irk, I won't..." Regert kissed her then, full and long, as he had wanted to ever since he'd seen her hours ago in the bar. The scholar returned the affection leaning into it and purring softly and mildly. He longed to hold her, but with Min between them, it was impossible. Not to mention if the child woke, they would probably scar him in more mental ways than they knew.   
"Regert Shrig?"  
They broke abruptly, whirling to the small med worker who had silently appeared in the doorway to Wikki's room, holding a data-pad in his hand. Peach-toned eyes stared up at the scholar and her mechanic. "Regert Shrig?" he asked again. "Your student..."  
"What's wrong with her?"  
"Come with me." The med worker's eyes locked with everyone who was still able to keep theirs open. "I need to tell you all this in private."  
At this, the group stood as one, teachers unconsciously gathering their students to them for whatever protection they could offer. Kaml's eyes widened in fear. His boss's green face was nearly white with his own terror, his one working antenna flattened against his head. He grasped Swar's hand in a grip that looked unbreakable. Lidge paled herself and clung to him desperately. For a brief moment, the orange eye glanced around him, looking for Min-only to remember he was safe with Swar. Indeed, when Kaml finally found Swar's gaze, Min was there, clinging to the scholar with all his tiny might. Kaml bit his lip. He shouldn't let Swar suffer like that... he should take Min himself... but... But Lidge needed him as much as Min did. And Min was taken care of for the moment... His indecision was settled when they were ushered into the privacy of the treatment room. Lidge shuddered at what she saw, burying her face in his chest and tightening her hold about his waist. He held her securely against her horror.  
Wikki, the smallest of them there, looked even smaller in the white expanse of the bed she was laid in. Her overly-large, bright yellow eyes were shut in what most of them hoped was a peaceful sleep. Although, her skin was too pale, her breath too shallow to be anything short of unconsciousness. Beside the bed, on a small, clean table, was the equally small black and yellow back-pod of the child. It was hooked to a small recharger machine, which gave off no sound, unlike the machines the pod's owner was attached to. The wires from these ran from the various machines and into the holes in Wikki's back, the holes where the wires from the pod usually connected to her spine. No Irken could live without their pod for more than half an hour, yet it was necessary sometimes to remove them for medical cases that were too severe to treat with them attached. Hence the new ones that currently were entering her body. Along with those, a breathing tube was inserted into her thin throat and a small fluid drip was suspended above her, its tube snaking gracefully down into her wrist. The pulse monitors beeped loudly, their rhythms slow and nearly unsteady.  
Her teacher was as white as the bed his student lay on. Shakily, he approached her; his eyes wider than anyone who knew him had ever seen them. The medical workers, two of them, didn't speak a word, nor tried to stop his slow advancement. Those remaining where they were held their students closer, alternating between murmuring mental hopes that they would never be forced to find their loved ones in such a state and that nothing horrific would befall them once more. Regert, trembling, took one of Wikki's hands in his. The male's gloved hands dwarfed the pale, green-skinned female's. As if in response to his touch, Wikki stirred slightly, coughing. He jumped. "What's wrong with her?" he demanded hoarsely. "Please... what's wrong with my student?"  
The peach-eyed med worker stepped forward. "Sir, you will not be pleased with what we have to say..." At Regert's insisting nod, he continued. "Our scans have... turned up a rarity. We know what was originally wrong with her-"  
"A mere cough," the other med worker answered. His eyes were a darker orange than Kaml's. Finding two Students with the same eye color exactly was rarity in itself.   
"Yes, a cough," the peach-eye continued. "But, something in her immune system is acting odd." He moved to a wall console and punched a few buttons with deft fingers. A three-dimensional model of a female Irken body appeared over the console. Blinking blips flowed through it. "Rather than fighting off this cough easily, as we normally do... her immune system is altering its cells to those of the disease..."  
"In short," the other orange-eye broke in. "her condition is becoming more and more critical. No matter what we do, her immune system refuses to alter back to its original state of being. Gradually, this disease will overcome her... and kill her..."  
Regert swayed where he stood. The others could see his hands clenching around Wikki's. He looked close to breaking down and weeping right in front of all of them. That would be a first. "Is... isn't there anything you can do for her?" Shil asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Cerol was trembling.   
"We are." More taps of the console buttons. Med workers always seemed more like Soldiers than Students. They were, for the most part, cool towards other Irkens, seeming aloof from all those except other med workers. But, unlike Soldiers, they never harmed another Irken. The only thing that set them apart from other Students was their detachment. "We are currently giving her something to fight the disease, but at the rate her immune system is, in a way, manufacturing the disease cells, the medication is overpowered."  
The peach-eye spoke up now. "What we may try, with your permission, Regert Shrig, is an immune cell transfusion. It is not a simple procedure, but, it has been perfected recently. Hopefully, the defective cells can all be removed, and normal ones put in their places... providing you agree to this."  
"Do anything," Regert hissed, his tone more panicky than threatening. "Please... just save her." Again, he gripped Wikki's hand. "She's... my little one... my Little Doll..." Anyone could see where her nickname came from. Wikki was so tiny in comparison to most children her age. Some felt she would barely grow to be even Shil's height. "Please."  
Before the med worker could answer Regert, Kaml's antennae pricked. What had he heard...? "Excuse me," he spoke up politely. Orange and peach eyes focused on him. "What was it you said about her immune cells...?"   
Apparently, the others all caught on at the same moment, as every antennae owned by the conscious mechanics and scholar pricked up in alarm. Shil shook harder than her Cerol did, her dark eyes jerking from one safe face to the next. With a soft whimper, Regert fell to his knees, stunned and staring. There was no need for the med workers to repeat their dire news. They all knew.  
Another defect. Another genetic defect among them. How many more lurked beneath the surface, ready to explode with the same deadly results as Wikki's? Students, barely knowing what was wrong, but knowing their teachers were terrified, cried out, holding their teachers tightly, the younger ones stifling their frightened tears. Even the med workers acted a bit unnerved by the events. The orange-eye spoke, calming the air of fear a margin. "Do not be so alarmed. We have the technology to fix this, but because it is a genetic defect, she will have to come in every week to be given the treatment," he said. "If that is fine with you, Regert sir, we will begin the treatment."  
Red eyes snapped up from the floor. They were misty from tears. "Yes. Yes, do it," he ordered, swiping his gloved hand over his eyes. "Do it. As long as she'll be okay."  
The peach-eye nodded. "She will. We can promise you that."  
Before anyone could respond, the synchronized tap of many booted feet in the hall outside disrupted them. Student faces paled. Only Soldiers made that sound. Only a large group... an entire squad of Soldiers. The orange-eyed med worker abruptly shut off the console, moving superstitiously closer to Wikki's bedside, his movements apprehensive. The peach-eye shot the other Students a look that ordered them to move too. Teachers protectively thrust their students behind them. Regert loomed over his unconscious student, free hand clenched into a fist. It wasn't long before their tension was rewarded.   
The door opened, roughly swung by a female Soldier. She wore a blaster at her hip. Another was clasped firmly in a black-gloved hand. The rest of her squad filed in after her, taking positions around the door and their commanding officer. Most of them were male. Purple eyes flicked over the Students. The CO snorted haughtily at them. "Move aside, worms," she said sharply. "We have an assignment we must carry out. Now."  
"What is your name and assignment, ma'am?" the peach-eye asked diplomatically, not caring that the Soldier he spoke to towered over him. That was another thing about med workers. They were nearly fearless. "We are not allowed to leave a critically ill patient until we are sure of your intentions towards the patient."  
She narrowed perfect purple eyes. "I am Captain Rikea of the South Shakra Barracks. This is my squad, number 8236477-SSB. Our assignment is the business of no weakling Student." The information was nearly spat at them. "Just get out of our way." Blasters were raised at a hand signal, their safeties flicking off all at the same moment. All pointed at those in the room. "Or you all will be shot."  
"Who gave you the authority-" the peach-eye began, completely calmly. Rikea cut him off by cracking the barrel of her blaster against his skull. There was a padded thud as the med worker hit the floor. Everyone froze as Rikea stalked forward, her stride almost Tallest-like in comparison to what theirs would have been, had they been moving. She stopped before the orange-eyed med worker, pointing her blaster at his head. "My assignment, you piece of trash, is to keep this from leaking out to the rest of your pathetic Class. Now. You will unhook the brat from those machines. Or else you will all be killed."  
"THOU SHALT NOT KILL!"  
The cry came from Swar Aman. While the rest of the group, frozen in fear, stood still, she had come forward, her face white with mingled horror and rage. Her antennae flicked in. She trembled with her emotions, staring the taller Rikea in the eye. The Soldier paled herself, noticing who this Student was, and how important she was to a certain superior. " 'Thou shalt not kill'!" Swar cried again, quoting an ancient text. " 'No Irken shall kill another unless the Irken killed is in direct offense of the law or the one keeping order'!" Min had been returned to Kaml's side. He shook, even with Kaml and Lidge's protection. "No matter WHO ordered you to do this, you disgusting, sorry excuse for a Rat Person, it is in VIOLATION with the oldest Irken law! You can't do this!"  
Now it was Rikea's turn. "My CO is above your pathetic Student laws!" she barked, a malicious glint in her eyes. "Nothing you say, or threaten to do will change my orders or stop me from carrying them out!"  
"You filthy worm!" Swar screamed. Her delicate hands clenched into fists, one of them swinging up to connect with the tender place under Rikea's chin. Swar had lost it. Light blue eyes mad with rage, she swung again, connecting again. The Soldier staggered back against the console, knocking the med worker out of the way. Rikea cursed loudly, struggling to her feet to attack Swar. With the two females nearly tearing one another apart, the med worker rolled away, coming face-to-face with another Soldier. The Soldier, thinking the orange-eye was trying to attack him, kicked out viciously, his boot slamming into the green face.  
If there was one good thing to be said for Soldiers, it was that if you attacked them with your fists, they would only fight you with their fists. If you attacked with blaster in hand, they shot you down. Soldiers were at the very least taught that much honor. While some forgot, Rikea was not one of those who did. She kept that small bit of honor and drilled it into her squad. Those who disobeyed her instructions were humiliated before the rest of their Class. That was one punishment no Soldier wanted. It was this that saved the lives of the Students in Wikki's treatment room that night.  
Rikea quickly overpowered Swar, sending the lightly built scholar lurching into the wall before swooping down on her to pummel her with Soldier fists. Angered beyond reason, Regert attacked Rikea, trying to protect Swar from her. This turned the CO's brutality on him. This time, the fight was more evenly matched, Regert's weight saving him from taking too much pain. The other Students were quickly involved in the brawl, the young ones doing their best to protect their teachers by ganging up on a single Soldier and attacking as best they could. Kaml already had a black eye, and what felt like more than a few bruised ribs. He wasn't used to fighting. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Shil biting some unfortunate Soldier, her teeth nearly drawing blood before she was thrown off. The orange-eyed med worker had recovered from the boot to his face and was now fully mixed up in the fight. He was apparently better at this than he looked, as already, the Soldier who had kicked him was laid low. For a brief moment, the med worker became a mechanic... his eyes altering their color from orange to blue. Kaml would have shook the vision away, but a fist connected with his chin before he could. Reeling, Kaml was forced back a few steps. He blinked the stars from his eyes and lashed out with a kick at the Soldier's midriff. It was blocked, his foot caught in capable Soldier hands. With a twist of the gloved appendages, Kaml was on his stomach, sprawled on the cold, tiled floor.   
From this new, and painful, position, he witnessed Min pinning a tiny Soldier to the wall. The Soldier couldn't have been any younger than Lidge, yet he was barely Min's height. Both short Irkens were evenly matched. And Kaml was thankful for that. In fact, the Soldier even seemed to be a bit afraid of his opponent. The Soldier's face didn't show it, his antennae did. Min must have bitten the little guy, for his hand was oddly wet with rose-colored blood.   
He was jerked to his feet roughly. The orange eyes of the med worker locked with his before the other Student moved on. Kaml rejoined the fray, still smarting from the fall. He tackled a Soldier to the floor, surprising him away from knocking Cerol out cold. Cerol fled. Beneath Kaml, the Soldier fought desperately to free himself. Despite his lack of fighting ability, Kaml had an iron grip. Mechanics had to. Although his grip was tight, the Soldier fought free to catch Kaml's jaw with a quick fist. The Student tasted blood. He hurriedly wiped it away before it could distract him. The back of his hand was soon coated in the sticky substance. Apparently the Soldiers were hitting harder than they'd thought. All around him, his friends were injured, injured and still fighting on to protect little Wikki. Swar's head had fallen onto her chest, her eyes half-shut. She had not moved from where Rikea had left her. Regert was struggling now, his uniform torn in places to reveal cuts from Rikea's bare claws. Where the Soldier's gloves were, Kaml didn't know. To his right, Shil was favoring her left arm, keeping the injured limb close to her chest. A manic grin was plastered to her face, her teeth stained rose. The group of students was out of his range of vision. He hoped they were faring better than their teachers.  
A cry of triumph made all action in the room cease. The cry of horror that followed made the Students pale.   
Slowly, Student heads turned towards the bed. Rikea was poised beside it, Regert grasping her arm as tight as he could. Her free hand was situated above the flashing red button they all knew would remove the wires from Wikki... and kill her. Malice gleamed in perfect purple eyes. She looked all the Students, making sure they saw her. Literally in slow motion, as if she wanted to prolong their suffering, one clawed finger pressed against the plastic, pushing it down. A ping followed the motion.  
For a moment, all they could do was stare. Regert went white. He let out an anguished cry, attempting to fight past Rikea to get to the button, to push it again and have the wires reconnect. The Soldier pulled her blaster on him. "Anyone who attempts to move," she hissed, panting slightly. "will be shot!"  
"Murderer!" Swar croaked from her corner. The med worker was by her side. "Murderer! Kasden Aman will hear of this!" Tears were coming from her eyes.   
Purple eyes rolled boredly. "All contact between you, filthy Student, and the Tallest was severed. You know it! Your pathetic threats are empty," snapped the Soldier. "I'm carrying out my orders as they were given to me."  
"By who?" Kaml cried. He took a step closer to Rikea, only to be restrained by a Soldier behind him. He fought, glancing around for Lidge, Min and Cerol. The hold increased. "Who on Irk would tell you to kill an innocent child!?"  
This earned Kaml a laugh. "It is not my duty to tell you, stupid Student! They are who they are and they have their reasons. All of which will be made clear to you when they order it so."   
Wikki coughed. Monitors beeped warningly as yellow eyes fluttered open. They quickly widened in fright and pain, searching for any friendly face. Anyplace that was safe for her. Regert choked. "Teacher!" the little one coughed, looking like she wanted to hold out her arms to receive a hug. The fact that there were strangers holding weapons in the room didn't seem to register with her. She just needed comfort. The sight made Kaml choke as well.   
Through all this, Rikea kept her blaster unwaveringly on Regert. "But, because I am female, I do have too much compassion for you freaks of nature." Roughly, she shoved him to his student, keeping the blaster out. "Hold her. Keep her safe as long as she's here."  
"Compassion?" Shil scoffed. "You call that compassion? After coming in here and condemning a child to death you say you have compassion?"   
The blaster shook. "Shut your noise tube!" Rikea ordered. The room was silent. Such a show of... emotion from a Soldier was unheard of. They felt as though they were witnessing a miracle. Though, the only miracle they wanted now was for Wikki to live.   
Shil didn't shut up. "You evil piece of waste!" she hissed. Her temper had frayed. "You're killing a CHILD! Mother of Irk, you're KILLING AN IRKEN! How dare you assume you have 'compassion' for us when you're murdering-"  
The blaster cracked. Shil cried out, crumpling. Kaml tried to run to her, but was restrained. Fortunately, Cerol wasn't. He appeared out of nowhere at her side, pressing his gloved hand to the wound. It was in her shoulder. Looked to have gone cleanly through the tissue and missed the bone. Rikea calmly blew away the small puff of smoke from the barrel. "That should teach you, Student, how to talk to your tallers!" she snarled. "Let that be a message to you all!"  
During all this, Regert had quietly taken his student in his arms, feeling her coughs shake her tiny frame. She was frightened. And nothing he could do could comfort her. No one dared move to her pod, as much as they wanted to. She cried; confused about what was happening to her, why she felt so very weak and sick. Her teacher could only hold her, rock her and tell her he was there. Somewhere in the room, someone burst into quickly stifled tears. Light began to fade from yellow eyes. Regert allowed himself tears as well. He held her tightly. "I love you, Little Doll," he whispered, refusing to loosen his hold on her. Wikki coughed in response. Without her backpod, her body was draining of energy. No more energy for her little pulse to beat. No one knew why... least of all Wikki. "I wanna sleep, Teacher," she murmured.  
"Not yet..." he choked. "You... can't sleep until... I give you something."  
Her eyes brightened briefly. "What?" Wikki's voice was so faint...  
Tears streamed down Regert's face. It was so hard to accept... but he had to. There was no other way. "My... my name. You're getting my name, Little Doll."  
Now the yellow eyes fairly glowed with a short-lived, joyous light. "I am?" she asked. "Really?"  
"There's no time for the ceremony, Wikki... but, from now on... You're Wikki Shrig... okay?"   
No. This wasn't happening. Kaml covered his face. This wasn't happening. It was so unreal... not another loss. No... Mother of Irk no... This couldn't be inevitable. There had to be something he could do. Something... anything...   
There wasn't a thing. Even as he sought for a solution, even as Regert choked out one last word of love, the last of Wikki's energy faded. Her bright yellows eyes slid shut, dimming. The Soldiers that had been so oddly silent left the room, their mission accomplished. Although the smallest of them, the one Min had bitten, hung back from the squad, staring at the scene with wide, nervous red eyes. Those red eyes took in everything. A teacher hunched over a student's prone form on a white bed, sobbing bitterly. One almost as tall as he, supported by a child with mismatched eyes, a blaster wound in her shoulder that dripped blood on the floor. Two children holding a single orange-eye with all their might, collective sobs coming from them. Forgotten on the floor, a peach-eyed Irken, staring blankly at the sterile ceiling. And a scholar, trembling with hate, being attended by a tall med worker, huddled in the corner.   
So much woe in a single room stirred something in him, and he fled down the hall to rejoin his fellow unfeeling drones who violated the most ancient of Irken laws for their own purposes. 


	3. The Bell Tolls

I don't own Zim or the Tallest. See? Told ya they'd be in here someplace! Squee! Have fun! And don't forget to R&R... otherwise... you will be hunted down and burned! YAY! ^.^  
  
  
  
III  
The Bell Tolls  
  
"You know, if you are lying to us, you will be executed for treason against your superior."  
"Yes sir. I do realize this, my Tallest sir."  
"And you stick by your story?"  
"Yes sir. I do, my Tallest sir."  
"Rael, you are backing him on this?"  
"Yes sir, I do."  
Tallest Purple put his head miserably into his hands. The three Irkens were in his private quarters, a place no one except the Elite Guards and Rael himself were allowed to be. For the midget Irken beside Rael, this was an experience he was unlikely to ever forget, or experience again in his lifetime. The only reason he was here was Rael's doing. Rael had heard the little Soldier's story of the events three weeks ago and brought him before the Student Tallest to retell it. But now that he'd heard it... Purple was unsure whether to believe it or not, even though Rael swore it was true. "A child..." he murmured in disbelief. "A little child..." Violet eyes flicked up to lock with the lighter red eyes of the midget Soldier. Respectfully, the youngster cast his gaze downwards, slicking his antennae against his head. "How young was she... eh..." For the life of him, he could not remember the small Soldier's name.   
"Zim, sir," supplied Rael. "Squad 8236477-SSB. Under Captain Rikea."  
"Ah, yes..." Purple looked at the one named Zim again. "Could... could you tell how young she was, Soldier?"  
The little head shook. "No sir," he answered with a smart salute. "She was younger than I, though."  
"Newly assigned, I'd assume," Purple mused to himself. His long, scholar fingers drummed against the tabletop, knocking against a pen before he could stop the nervous habit. He caught it as it fell. "Mother of Irk... Rael... how long has this been going on?"  
Dark red eyes considered this. "As far as I know, years," he responded. "Guard Sen is behind this, sir," added the Captain after a moment.  
Purple looked up from the pen, startled. "The one with the defective eyes?"   
"Yes, sir."  
"Oh Mother of Irk." The Tallest put his head into his hands again. He felt an odd sort of helplessness. "Have we any way at all of knowing how many they've made into defects?"  
"No, sir."  
The Tallest sighed again. He felt like... like... he felt terrible. First the whole banishment business... and now this. Why did the biggest messes always choose to fall into your lap at the worst possible time? He was already berating himself to the point of depression over his treatment of Jendai, when the two Soldiers had asked entrance. "We cannot kill them..." he muttered, mostly to himself. "We can't."  
"If you forgive my intrusion, sir, is there anything we can do for them?" Zim spoke up, not sounding timid at all. He still kept that humble stance though, which was important.   
Rael cast the young one a glance. "He does have a point, Tallest Purple," he said slowly. "We have no way of knowing how severe these defects are. They could be as simple as Sen's eyes, or as bad as having too few organs." Like his Tallest, he began to feel helpless. "I suppose the ones with the worst defects would die of natural causes... But the ones with simple defects... They could probably just live normal lives, I suppose."  
"How could this... how could this have happened?" Purple sounded shaky. "I thought the Hatcheries were carefully monitored... All the reports I have indicate that..."  
Now instead of feeling helpless, Rael was swept over by remorse. Few knew it, but, unlike normal Soldiers, those in the Special Forces were not limited by the usual Soldier emotion restrictions. Trained differently than other Soldiers, they were almost capable of feeling everything Students did, only they masked it better than most. He knelt at Purple's feet, slicking his antennae back against his head... and as a gesture of ultimate submission, removed the cloth mask from the lower half of his face. "Sir... Sir, forgive me..." Rael murmured. "I... I have known about these happenings... ever since they began." He choked. Betrayal... he felt as if he had betrayed his Tallest. Loyalty was ingrained into his being, more so than any other Solider. "I wished to tell you, very often. I hate what I have been forced to do. But, I had no solid proof until Sen admitted it to me one night... but I was too late to stop what happened. Sir... I beg you to forgive me for my crime..."  
"Rael..." The Tallest looked a little uncomfortable. "Rael please... You didn't do anything wrong. We need to decide what to do here, not beg forgiveness that isn't needed."  
"Yes, yes, sir."  
"Now..." began Purple, leaning back in his chair. He looked much calmer now. "What are we to do about this...?" The Tallest had regained his control over the situation, what control he had, anyway. "Rael, I want any and all information you have or can gather on this situation. I will order all Soldiers out of the Hatcheries until this is cleared up."   
"You have that authority?" came a new, more threatening voice.  
"Red..." Purple sighed heavily. "I do, and you'll agree with me once this matter is explained." Violet eyes narrowed in a slow, careful motion. "It involves your Class killing mine, and seeing as you are one of the finest examples of your Class, you should be equally horrified."  
In his mind, Rael was silently thanking the Mother of Irk that Tallest Red was not one who was against the Students. He cast a glance over his shoulder to the open doorway to Purple's quarters, where the other Tallest stood, casually leaning against the framework. Red didn't look annoyed, which was fortunate for all parties in the room. In fact, the other Tallest looked more amused by the situation than anything. But at the mention of Irkens killing one another, the calm vanished into-thankfully-what appeared to be revulsion. Beside Rael, the midget Zim looked back and forth between Tallests in a state of complete awe. His amazement only grew when Red approached them. "Say that again," the Soldier Tallest ordered, folding his arms and leering down at the seated Purple.  
Not to be dominated by stance, Purple rose fluidly. "We have reports," he began, indicating the two smaller Irkens. "reliable reports that members of your Class have begun a campaign to kill mine."  
"How?"  
"I'll explain it to you later. Right now we need to order the guards out of the Student Class Hatcheries to ensure this doesn't keep happening while we think."  
Despite his lack of knowledge on the circumstances, Red nodded understandingly. "I'll get on it. Any Soldier who goes into Student Hatcheries gets thrown in prison. How's that sound?" A rouge grin was plastered on Red's face.   
"Very good sir," Rael saluted.   
"Amazing, sir!" piped up Zim.   
All heads turned to look at the little Soldier. Instantly, he knelt, slicking his antennae flat. "My apologies for speaking out of turn, my Tallest and Taller," he said quickly. "I only wished to voice how amazing Tallest Red's plan was. I will leave now if you see it fit, sirs."  
Purple blinked, a bit surprised by this Zim's enthusiasm and extreme loyalty. "No... we need your story to clarify a few things..." he said after a moment. He then motioned for the rest of them to take a seat around the small table, returning to his recently vacated chair. "Now then," Purple said, eyeing Zim. "What exactly-"  
"Can we get some food for this? I have a feeling it's gonna take a while."  
"That's all you ever think about, Red?"  
"Well, I'm hungry..."  
"You're always hungry when I'm trying to have an important meeting!"  
"Perhaps," Rael began quietly. "We should get something..." He knew his Tallest. And once Red had stated he was hungry, nothing else would get through his skull. Purple looked about to snap at Rael, then thought better of it and only let out an exasperated sigh that was more than likely directed at the whole of the Soldier Class. Watching him bicker with Red for the second time in minutes, Rael had to sigh to. It was a wonder if they could do anything with the problem with the two of them arguing so much. He sat back in his chair.  
This would take a very long time, no matter if Red got his nachos or not.  
  
The whole place smelled of flowers. Unusual for a place on Irk. Gentle blossoms of every color imaginable bobbed up and down on their long, pale-silver stalks as the group of Irkens passed them. Five petals to each flower, five petals that folded at tips which became darker than the rest of the flower. In their dark centers were three slender stalks used for spreading their version of pollen through the air. Standing about one foot in height these flowers, called Student Lilies, were some of the most beautiful things Min had ever seen.  
Too bad such exquisite things were a symbol of such tragic events.  
He scooted closer to Kaml, who was holding his little hand, suddenly nervous around these flowers. Kaml glanced down at him, his orange eyes concerned. "You all right Min?" he asked.   
Min nodded, still gazing quietly at the flowers. So many colors... He felt very plain compared to them. Dressed all in black the group of mechanics stood out starkly against the brightness of the lilies. Although their dress was appropriate for their business here.   
Normally, Students wore the color of their eyes as well as the color that represented their job. But now, black was the somber choice for this occasion. Irken culture was deeply rooted in colors. Color made a distinction between jobs, single Irkens, even Class, and gave Tallests their name once they reached their position. It represented occasions such as graduation from a Nursery or Academy, the giving of a name, or, like now, the passing of a fellow Irken. In such a ceremony, again, there was Class distinction of color. Students decorated themselves in black, whereas Soldiers chose a dark green.   
There were no Soldiers among the group winding its way through clear passages, only mechanics. Lidge walked on the other side of Kaml, having changed her short working skirt for a longer, more formal one. The same went for Shil, who walked only a few paces ahead of Kaml and his students. Her injured arm had been healed since their brawl, but was still held protectively to her small chest. Cerol was at her left side, blind eye staring at nothing with a chilling gaze. Their boss was not with them, neither was Swar. They were in, what Irkens had labeled, a Death Dome. Made of clear glass separated into large facets to support the structure, the giant domes were like greenhouses, their hundreds of levels housing a floor of deep soil and carefully manicured greenery. They were made entirely of glass and metal, having clear floors, walls and even ceilings. This provided for an interesting effect. In any of the flower rooms, you looked up at a sea of brown earth and roots sitting above artificial sunlight lamps while real sunlight streamed through the walls. The Domes were one of the more beautiful buildings on Irk. But, like the lilies they housed, their purpose was depressing.   
When an Irken died, their bodies were burned, the ashes given to the workers of the Domes. The ashes were then placed in small boxes and buried in the soil kept within the various levels of the Domes themselves. Once buried, genetics specialists created a lily whose flower would bloom to become the same exact color of that Irken's eyes. The flower was then planted over the box and labeled with the Irken's name, age at death, and a few words from their friends or teacher. The Domes were Irken graveyards.  
Looking through the glass that separated the corridor from the masses of flowers, Min shivered, clinging to Kaml's hand. The thought of what lay beneath those lilies frightened him. He knew nothing about the cremation of the bodies. To him, there were hundreds upon thousands of Irken bodies lying just below the surface of the soil. "Shh, Min," Kaml soothed. He was picked up by his surrogate teacher. "What's the matter?"  
"Nuthin'," Min mumbled, burying his face in Kaml's neck. He liked being held. The Nursery workers had done it a lot for him. But his teacher had only held him once, briefly, before he'd been banished. Remembering that night still hurt him. "I miss Teacher Kaalae..." he said finally, as a thought struck him. "Kam...?"  
"Hmm?"  
"Is... are we gonna get Teacher Kaalae a flower?"  
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lidge stiffen at this. Hastily, the female looked away, rubbing a gloved hand across her face before returning her gaze towards the elevator that was now only a hundred feet away. Kaml tensed a bit as well. "No, Min," he said softly. "We're not getting him a lily because... because Jendai's not dead and Wikki is. Only dead Irkens can have lilies." Min could tell he was trying to keep something out of his voice.  
"Okay," the gray-eye mumbled. He decided not to press the subject anymore. Older Irkens got mad at you for pressing uncomfortable subjects. Min was eight after all. Eight was smart enough to realize these things. Keeping quiet, he wrapped his arms around Kaml's neck, moving his head to rest against his chest.   
The elevator was clear, like the rest of the Dome, letting them see the attendant inside. Kaml hung back from the main group, setting Min down beside Lidge. "Keep him with you, okay?" the orange eye ordered. "I have... something to do." His gaze was focused on one of the flower rooms. To Shil and Cerol he said, "I'll meet you guys up there. Be back in a second." And then he walked away.  
Min stared after him until Lidge gently took his hand and led him away. He didn't fight her. She looked down at him sympathetically. "He'll come back Min," she assured him. "Remember when we said Dai'd be okay after working with the voot? It's the same thing... he just needs to talk to someone."  
"'Kay," he mumbled, following her into the elevator.   
When he was sure he was alone, Kaml slid into one of the flower rooms, eyes alert for what he sought. Maroon. That was what he needed to find. A single, maroon flower. There! In the south corner. He made his way over to it, careful not to disturb the other lilies growing in the room. Even though the Irken beneath the flower couldn't hear him, he felt obligated to let her know what had happened. Coming closer to it, he noted how tall it looked. A proud flower, this one. He knelt down before it, tracing a gloved finger over the soft, silky petals. Below the flower, as with all the others, a metal plaque read:   
  
DASKE KAALAE  
Age At Death: 78  
Cause of Death: Blorch Fever  
Loved Teacher, respected mechanic  
  
"Hey Daske," Kaml murmured. Jendai's old teacher had always been kind to him. He'd enjoyed her stories of the blunders of the Soldier Class. Jendai had loved her dearly. From what Kaml knew of her, she was a lenient teacher, not requiring her student to tell her where he was going after hours or why, and thus Jendai had always felt obligated to. He remembered one time, when he'd been in his early teens, Jendai, Leeri and Kasden had all come to his door, asking him if he'd wanted to come to one of Irk's capitol's many dance halls. Kaml had been amazed the three's teachers had let them out so late and when asked, they said it was Daske's doing. One quick call by his teacher to Daske later, Kaml was out dancing with them. With a grin he recalled Jendai and Leeri's actions towards each other that night, as well as the two females who had hounded him and Kasden Aman. Daske had always acted young, despite her biological age. Her death had stunned and pained everyone who knew her.   
Blorch Fever. Often called the rat sickness. It was the worst alien disease Irkens knew of. Transmitted through contact with cells of a rat person, it burned away the victim's body fluids at such a rate it was hard to keep the victim hydrated long enough for treatment. Although difficult to do, it was treatable and survivable.   
Daske had contracted the disease through working on a voot cruiser that had returned from a mission on Blorch. Jendai had barely avoided getting a deadly dose himself. He had just passed out of needing Daske's care, but, like most students, still lived with her and worked with her until he could find a house and position of his own. Fortunately for Jendai, Daske had refused to let him work on the cruiser. When she had fallen ill, he'd taken her to the medical center, and gotten a small dose of the virus himself. He'd recovered easily, but Daske had been too old. She'd passed on before they could do anything for her. Her sudden death had shocked all of West Jihi as well as devastated poor Jendai.  
"I... I really hate to tell you this, Daske," he said, knowing how stupid it was to be talking to a lily. "But... Jendai's been banished."  
It had to have been his imagination, but Kaml could have sworn the flower wilted a bit at the news. He bit his lip as the entire story came out. He knew it was idiotic. He knew he was talking to a flower. But he also knew if he didn't tell someone his feelings on this, he'd burst at the worst possible time. The flower just sat there, listening, as Kaml poured out his heart to it.   
"And to add to all that, little Wikki Shrig was murdered..." Kaml broke off, rising. "I have to get to her funeral now... so..." He shrugged. "I'll drop by again if someone dies, okay?" Kaml turned on a bootheel and left the room.   
Behind him, the maroon flower waved slowly in an unseen wind.  
  
Where was Kaml? The ceremony had already begun and the orange eye was nowhere in sight. "Blast him," Lidge murmured, wiping her eyes hastily. Beside her, Min clung to her long skirt, whimpering through his tears. He, Lidge, Cerol, Shil and Swar, who had been waiting for them in the doorway to this room, were only spectators in this. They had no real part, save for comforting Regert afterwards.   
It was a small grave, smaller even than the rest of the graves around it. Set against the back wall, at the end of the row. Each room had space enough for one hundred thousand graves, all organized into rows that wrapped around the room in a spiral, with a small, dirt path between rows. Wikki's was the newest one. The smallest one. The onlookers were gathered in a semi-circle around the grave, Regert and an attendant stood on the other side, the attendant holding a lily bulb wrapped in a thin paper while Regert held a small yellow box that was damp with his tears. A square hole stood between them.   
"Wikki Shrig," Regert murmured. He'd been coached in the proper things to say in the ceremony. But no amount of coaching could erase the pained choke from his voice. "Was... my student..." His hands clenched around the box. "Was... my little... my Little Doll."  
"How did she die, sir?" the attendant asked formally.  
Regert swallowed. "Murder," he whispered. "Soldiers... killed her because... she had a defect of her genes..." For a moment, the boss of West Jihi broke into sobs, holding one gloved hand over his eyes. "And... they wanted to cover it up."  
Clutching her skirt, Min let out a soft wail, remembering that night. Lidge knelt beside him, holding him close to her to protect him from whatever nightmare visions were in his head. He'd been so strong when Jendai had been around. Now he needed someone to be strong around too. "It's okay Min," Lidge whispered, barely above hearing level. "I'm here. I'm here..."  
If the attendant, or Regert, had noticed them, they didn't show any signs of it. The ceremony continued uninterrupted.   
"I loved her..." Regert murmured, continuing. The box was now clasped to his chest. He wept openly.  
"As a teacher should," the attendant responded. "And in loving her, you know what you must do with her remains." He gestured to the open hole. "You must place her box here, so her spirit may grow with the lily to be a symbol of who she was."  
Wordlessly, yet still with the utmost tenderness, the box was set into the hole, gloved hands resting a moment its top. Tears flowed unabated. Slowly, handful by handful, scooped earth refilled the hole, dirtying black gloves. Halfway through, Regert's hands reached for the bulb, which was handed to him by the attendant. Next, they groped for Swar's, hands that were gladly given to him. Together, they set the lily bulb in the soft dirt, covering it with the last of the scooped out earth. For a long time after, the hands remained clasped over the grave, drawing support and comfort from each other.  
There was not a dry eye. Shil sobbed into Cerol's chest, her student being the taller one, and thus gave them more comfort this way. He held her back, letting his tears drop onto her head. Lidge rocked Min, trying to quiet his sobs. She desperately wanted comfort of her own, but Kaml was nowhere to be seen. He'd missed the entire ceremony! Blast him! Just when she needed him the most was the time he decided to disappear... Unconsciously, her hands tightened around Min. Someone needed help too, possibly even more than she. Little Min hadn't ever known Wikki, other than a seldom-seen figure on the workfloor, or a voice calling for Regert's spare moments. Truth be told, Lidge hadn't known the child either. She'd babysat her for the boss a few times, but that was all. Still... the death of any Irken hit all Students who'd known them hard. Lidge felt tears dripping onto Min's uniform. Before she could wipe them away, her teacher was by her side, drying her eyes. "Kam?" she hissed, disbelieving what she saw.  
"Shh, it's okay now, Lidgers," Kaml soothed in a whisper, putting his arms around them both. "Sorry I missed it..."   
She just nodded into his chest, glad he was back. The attendant had begun muttering words in ancient Irken none of them, save Swar, understood at all. It was over. The ceremony ended with the attendant placing the plaque on the grave, then escorting the mechanics out. Regert and Swar stayed, looking down at Wikki's grave. Anyone could hear their boss's sobs. Even after the glass door closed behind them with a soft hiss of hydraulics.  
  
Normalcy returned to West Jihi in only a matter of days after Wikki's burial. Everyone knew of her death, as news traveled fast in the workshop, although few noticed her actual absence. The little one had never been a dominant personality in the shop during her time there. Her lack of presence was only chiefly noted by Regert's withdrawal from the workfloor. He stayed in his office most of the time, some days never leaving the solitude of his quarters. When the red-eye did appear, there were black circles beneath his eyes, his normally crisp clothing was messed and wrinkled. Most upsetting to the workers though, was Regert's weight. In the same time it took for sanity to regain its hold on the workshop, he'd lost so much weight he was beginning to look like Kaml.  
The orange-eye pushed his goggles back, surveying the runner he'd just put the finishing touches on. "Try 'er, Min," he called, taking a few steps backwards.  
Instantly, the engines sparked to life, giving off a pleasant hum in the din of the workfloor. Kaml grinned. Yes, life was going smoothly now. For his little group at least. Turning to his tool rack, he stripped off the goggles, waving to Min to kill the engines for now. At the table on the other side of the station, Lidge was filling out the file work necessary to return the runner to its owner and collect payment. Two stations over, the buzz of a plasma torch told him Shil was hard at work. He didn't even need to look over at her to know Cerol was watching her with one eye, carefully analyzing her movements. Above him, for the first time that day, dry red eyes gazed down over the floor, solemn and sad. But beside them was a pair of dark red eyes Kaml had never seen before. He assumed they were conversing.   
"You're sure Tallest Purple will... punish those worms?"  
"Yes, sir, I am. He was most upset about this."  
"You know what this will lead to, once the rest of the Students find out?"  
"That I do. And I dread that day."  
"Why is that? You're a Soldier. You should love combat."  
"I... I have no desire to see your Class slaughtered-"  
"Classsist!"  
"No no no! I assure you, sir. I meant no offense. I only... I despise death. Irkens killing Irkens... who would have thought it would come to this?"  
"If the Tallest stop the abuse, it won't. Otherwise..." Red eyes glittered with an odd passion as the bell for noon break tolled ominously. "they had better prepare for a revolution of unimaginable proportions..." 


	4. The Fight Has Only Just Begun (10 years ...

YAY! Another chapter!! R&R cuz I have writer's block!!  
  
  
  
IV  
The Fight Has Only Just Begun  
  
(10 Years Later...)  
  
Her hands ached. Why did they always ache now? Their joints cracked loudly as they moved. Swar removed her hands from the keyboard, wincing. She wasn't old enough to be having bone pain... Although, a large number of scholars got swollen tendons, or inflamed joints in their hands from all the writing and typing they did. Rubbing her forehead, she leaned forward to peer at the screen before her. Translating had always been one of her best subjects. But this was tedious.   
The language this passage had been written in was older than anything Swar had experienced before. She'd had to turn to the more recent languages for root words, backtracking and going over different words again to see if the sentences were making any sense. In the archaic language it was written in, the bizarre piece rhymed. But in their current form of speech, it was hideous sounding, not flowing at all. Sighing, she re-read what she now had to herself, biting her lip.  
"Under the watchful eyes of jade,  
An invader will fall to those he once slew  
The race becomes victims of their own enslaving doom  
But out of the ashes...  
A dead Kaalae will rise."  
That alone had taken her an entire month. No wonder her hands ached. "A dead Kaalae..." Swar mused, massaging the aching joints. "A poem...? Really old if it is..." Now she tipped backwards in her chair, glancing up at the clock in the silent hall. Scholars worked in huge buildings called Universities. There were five in Irk's capitol alone. Each scholar had their own little office area, where they could store whatever projects they were working on and what tools they needed for various tasks. Few actually worked in their offices. Most of them preferred the open halls lined with books and small tables with comfortable chairs. Windows were placed near the tiled ceilings to let light in, though each table had a spherical lamp at each end. There were so many books, real books, that the shelves they were on often times ran all the way up to just below the windowsills. Hover disks were readily available to for those who needed to reach those shelves that could not be reached by robotic legs alone.   
Now Swar massaged her forehead, not taking any comfort in the warm brown tones the University was decorated in. It was almost quitting time. For the first time since she could remember, Swar Aman was more than ready to get out of here. Normally, she was too wrapped up in her project to even notice the moons were shining through the windows. She cracked her wrists, daydreaming. Once she got out of here, Regert had asked her to come see him at his apartment. Unusual for him. She was usually the one who arranged these things. "Mmmm..." Another sigh. "Can't wait..."  
"For what?"  
Her antennae twitched. "How long were you back there?"  
"A while," Tolia Aman laughed, sliding into a seat across from Swar. Swar's former student grinned across the table at her, tan eyes blending with the rest of her clothing and the hall around her. Tolia was Kasden's replacement. The student assigned to Swar after Kas had become Tallest. She'd been eight, and now, ten years later, was on her own as an assistant to the Tallest whenever they needed research on something. Swar barely ever saw her.   
"Tolia Aman! How have you been? I haven't seen you since word got around about this Impending Dooky or Doom or whatever they're calling it started being planned," the elder Aman chuckled. "Why don't you ever contact me?"   
"No time, no time," Tolia sighed, casually leaning her chin on the backs of her palms. "Everyone's so busy... running around like rat people with no heads. Students are even being taken along in this Armada of theirs. There's all kinds of chatter going the Barracks lately. Soldiers are competing to see which ones are worthy of being Invaders..." Fingers as delicate as Swar's massaged their owner's forehead. "It's one big blasted free-for-all down there..."  
Swar smiled shrewdly at her old student. "You knew what the job entailed, Tolia, when the boss gave you the option." She closed the book she was using wearily. "You have the time, Tol?"  
Tan eyes flicked to the chrono-band on her wrist. "You're off now, Swar," Tolia replied, getting to her feet. "Eager to leave for once... unusual for you."  
"Unusual for any of us," the other muttered, busying herself with placing the items she'd been using into her satchel. Every scholar had one. It contained their work and tools from that day, as well as the books they needed. It was usually kept in their offices during the off-hours, but some took theirs home to work, if extra time was required. Slinging it over her too-thin shoulders, Swar rose, once again cracking her wrists. "I have a date with Regert Shrig, though Tolia. You remember him?"  
Tolia nodded. "The one who's student was killed... yes, I do."  
"He invited me to his apartment."  
"Ah... well, I won't keep you Teacher."  
Swar embraced her student, happy to have seen her again. "I hope you keep your sanity up there, Tol."  
"So do I, Swar... So do I."  
  
Traffic was its usual nightmare. Insane drivers should be kept off the road, in Swar's opinion. Finding Regert's building was never any trouble, even for an Irken who had a particularly lousy sense of direction such as herself. It was two blocks away from West Jihi, looming over the rest of the buildings in the immediate area. She parked up on the roof, like the other tenants and their guests, right between a red voot runner and a gray one. To the right of the gray voot, were four others; one magenta, one orange, one that was half a weird green and half a dark blue and the last voot was a dark green. Swar climbed out gracefully. Apparently it wasn't only her Regert had called in. All her thoughts of a romantic evening left her head as she approached the elevator and was met with the cool gray eyes of an Irken already inside.  
"I was supposed to watch for you. That way no one would suspect you weren't you and jump you," the eyes' owner said in a light tone.  
"How gallant of you," Swar replied, mimicking his tone. After a moment of gray eyes meeting light blue, the owner of the gray eyes laughed, causing Swar to smile. "Min Kaalae! What under Irk's sun do you think you're doing?"  
Ten years had seen the once little Min changed greatly. Standing at three feet, six inches, he was taller than both Swar and his old surrogate teacher Kaml. Where there was once a soft, quizzical naivety, his eyes were harder, colder somehow than they had been. Yet, they still retained that softness, which made for an odd contrast. On his own, he was fully capable of caring for himself, being strong for himself... he had matured greatly since Wikki's death and his teacher's banishment. Like Jendai, Min had become quite a powerhouse when he was needed. And it never showed otherwise. "I'm scaring the green out of you," he grinned, his voice a light baritone now.   
Impulsively, the scholar wrapped her arms around him, aware he was taller than she. It was so good to see him. "Sweet Mother, Min..." she muttered. "How long's it been?"  
"Oh, only a few years or so, Swar." She could almost hear him blushing. "C'mon down, don't gush out here in the open. Irk, if you think I changed... you should see Lidge." He escorted her into the elevator, gloved finger pressing the button to take them down to the floor below them. "You'll be amazed when you see everyone again."  
That was something Swar regretted. Since the burial, she'd only seen Regert-and even then rarely, asking him how the others were doing and such things. Both of them had felt it best to go back to the way things were, avoid any messes that might have come back, albeit it hurt them to be apart so much. "I heard about Lidge," Swar admitted. "How tall exactly IS she? Regert always seems to exaggerate."  
Min chuckled. "Only about half an inch taller than him, and not growing anymore," he answered with a sly grin. "Why? What's that lardball saying?"  
Despite Regert's loss of weight, the remarks about his previous appearance were still apparent in West Jihi. Many of them had been started by Regert himself. He'd gained most of it back, in what some felt was an effort to live up to the jokes and rumors. Swar sighed. "He said she was eight inches, not seven and a half... that's it..." she mumbled to her feet. She felt suddenly depressed, thinking of the past. As if noticing her mood, Min put his hand on her shoulder comfortingly.   
"Don't worry about him, Swar..." he said with a soft smile. "We brought ahki for most of us, vinel for those who want something less alcoholic, and lastly..." Min paused for a dramatic effect, something he was quite good at. "A fairly good bottle of amrinae for you, Miss Aman."  
"Very good!" Swar gave Min her arm. "Take me to this party, Min Kaalae."  
They exited the elevator, heading down the long hall. Min moved strangely, as if he were attempting to mask his footsteps. Something about his movements made Swar nervous. What was he doing? He cast a glance at her, imploring her to copy him. Unnerved, Swar did so. There was something odd going on... At Regert's door, rather than buzzing the vidcam, Min knocked in a bizarre rhythm. Seconds later, the door slid open, Min pulling Swar hastily inside.   
Frightened, the scholar let out a little yelp, her antennae falling down. It was pitch-black inside, all window shades were drawn and no lights were on. Even the hum of the apartment's master computer was absent. She was frightened. Someone supported her, their arms tightly around her waist. "Is everyone here?" asked her supporter. Regert.  
"Now we are," answered Kaml's voice from the blackness. A single, battery-operated lamp came on, glowing brightly in the orange-eye's grasp. In the sudden illumination, Swar could see the faces of all who were here. Kaml, Min, Regert, Lidge, Shil, Cerol, a few faces Swar had never seen and one she'd hoped not to see again. Gymar Karre was leaning against the far wall, deformed antennae pricked with a slight interest. Beside him, his arms folded lazily, was a merchant, his eyes a light red in the semi-darkness. The badge on his shirt marked him for a distributor of weapons. Most of the familiar Irkens were seated at the table, and on Min's lap was a small, turquoise-eyed female who couldn't have been more than four. The next Kaalae... Swar thought. Lidge was at the head of the table, as her new height demanded. Now the boss of West Jihi, the magenta-eyed female had a definite air of authority over this gathering. Shil sat beside Cerol, who had just barely passed out of her care. At three feet, four inches, Cerol was average height for an Irken, but with his one blind eye, he was an imposing figure. Having changed his uniform to half blue, half milky green, he looked almost as if he were an entity of clashing forces. Neither Kaml nor Regert had changed, Swar observed as she was seated beside her red-eyed lover.   
It was only then that Swar noticed the Soldier among them. She nearly leapt to her feet and screamed, if Lidge had not noticed her horror. "This, Swar Aman, is-as he calls himself-" Lidge looked to the Soldier for conformation.  
"Hiaki," the Soldier said, rising grandly. He was stockier than Regert had been and rather short, about three foot, one inch, if anyone could guess. His uniform was crisp, freshly washed. All in all, he looked respectable, if you disregarded his height.   
Swar blinked. "Hiaki... 'traitor' in the old language..." the scholar mused, dazedly. "Interesting choice of names."  
"I was told by Rael you would know the meaning of my choice, Swar Aman," Hiaki said, smirking slightly. "I am a traitor to my Class, because I have chosen, like Rael, to aid yours."  
"Aid mine? My Class needs no help from yours." Swar stared defiantly into Hiaki's red eyes, her own narrowed.  
Hiaki looked surprised. "She doesn't know?" he asked, turning to Lidge. "I was under the impression you told her."  
"Told me what!?" Swar cried. She was confused and frightened even more than before. What was happening? Why where all these Irkens here? Why was the power off? Trembling, she grasped Regert's hand. "What is going on here?!"  
Silence fell. A few shifted uncomfortably in their seats. Against the wall, the merchant locked eyes with Gymar, rolling the red pools slightly in exasperation at Swar's ignorance. Lidge especially looked ill at ease. Her antennae flicked. "Ah," she began, seeming unsure of herself. "Swar..."  
She got to her feet. "Lidge," the scholar replied dangerously. "What in the name of Irk is going on here?"  
"Uprising," Regert said, his voice coming ominously from behind Swar. She spun to face him, confused. His face was impassive. "Uprising, Swar."  
"What... what do you mean?" Swar was terrified now. Uprising!? She felt the wall against her back pod and realized she'd been backing away from the table the whole time. The rest of them were on their feet now, some concerned, others annoyed. Shadows played across green faces, turning them into strange, almost demon faces one only saw in nightmares. "What do you mean!?" Swar cried, feeling panicked tears swell in her eyes.   
Cerol stepped up, trying to look gentle and only succeeding in terrifying Swar further. He retreated when she sank to her knees with another cry. Min tried, kneeling before her after passing the turquoise-eyed female to Lidge. The gray eye took Swar's hands, moving slowly so as not to startle the scholar. "Swar..." he began. Of all the Irkens in that room, it took the one she had known the least well to calm her. The one she had held in her arms. "Dear Swar... I... I don't know how to tell you this... especially after no one else could..." Min's baritone was strained. "You, of all Irkens, should know... how much has been done to our Class."  
"How much Soldiers have done," Kaml muttered, only to be silenced by a look from Shil.  
"We've had it, Swar," continued Min. "All of us. The rest of the Class too. Irk, even a few Soldiers don't like it." Hiaki nodded in agreement. "That's why... that's why we're... rising up. Against the Tallest and Soldiers. Until things change..."  
Swar fainted.  
  
"We shouldn't have broken this to her like that, Lidge," Min muttered into his knees. He sat against the wall of Regert's living room, shrouded in semi-darkness, knees drawn up to his chest. It was necessary to cut the power to the apartment for this meeting, as you had no idea who could be listening in on the conversations via tele-communications, or any other simple device. "We scared her too badly."  
Onial Beke, the weapons merchant with light red eyes, shot Min a glare from his position on the other side of the room. "Scholars," he sniffed in a superior tone. "They're weak to begin with. Staying shut inside with those 'books' all day." He rolled his eyes. "Don't have any life experience."  
"Bet she'd faint if she saw a picture of a slaughtering rat person," Gymar agreed, raising his ahki in salute to Onial.   
"Both of you shut your mouths before I get over there and do it with my welding torch," Lidge snapped, her eyes flashing from her seat in one of Regert's armchairs. "Min's right, you two imbeciles know it. We shouldn't have done that. And did any of you stop to think what that meant to her? Her first student is Almighty Tallest." Now Lidge's words were directed at Min. "Against the Tallest, my green arse! That's probably why she fainted! Poor thing... Min, that's like you fighting Pira there."  
At the mention of her name, the little turquoise-eyed female stopped what she was doing and looked up, leaning against Min's side. In her hands was a datapad and pen. Across the pad was a sketch of her teacher, Min Kaalae. No one noticed it much. Hardly any Irkens had a desire to be artistic, and those who did went unnoticed by the general population. Min noticed her. That was all Pira needed right now. Her teacher patted her head, then answered Lidge. "I was only trying to help. I forgot about Kasden. All right? You, Kam, Regert... all of you had years more experience with her situation than me. How was I supposed to know how she'd react?"  
"I know you were Min," said Cerol. He sat against Lidge's chair, blind eye standing out eerily in the dimness. The dead pool looked to be moving about the room, attracted to invisible things. Under its gaze, the Students shifted uncomfortably. Sometimes, it looked as if it were gazing right through you. Cerol was an Irken of few words, but when he did say things, they were said with a bizarre, utter finality which some found more frightening than his eye. "So do most of us."  
Kaml had stayed quiet through all this, lost in thought. So much had changed... He looked over at Lidge briefly. The mechanic was immensely proud of his student. She was so tall, so very tall. She'd begun berating Onial and Gymar again, as they'd been making hissed comments about Cerol's odd behavior. Those close to him knew it as normal by now. Cerol was silent about the whole thing, just calmly watching them. Feeling suddenly tired, he stretched out on Regert's thickly padded sofa, letting his orange eyes shut. None of them knew how long it would take for Swar to awaken. It was necessary for her to be alert and calm before they could tell her their plan. The only reason they were going to ask Swar's aid was because of her attachment to Regert. If they hadn't, he thought with a smirk, she would have forced it out of the ex-boss.  
  
"I think she's coming around... Swar? Swar, you in there?"  
The scholar groaned, turning over in the bed. Her eyelids fluttered weakly, then fell closed and stayed that way. Someone held a glass to her lips. "Drink, Love... It's amrinae..." Regert's voice, calming her. She did so, feeling strength return as the wine worked through her. A quiet movement as someone put the glass down. "There..."  
"How are you feeling?" a new voice, more crisp, drilled.  
Swar could only groan again in response. Her head ached, throbbing in rhythm to her pulse. Something cool was placed against her forehead. "Where... am I?" she mumbled drowsily.   
"My apartment, Love," Regert's voice answered out of the darkness. She felt him take her hand. "Are you okay?"  
"My head..."   
A sharp prick in her arm. Someone had accessed a med unit. Shil spoke up somewhere. "You were in shock, Swar..." the small mechanic sounded embarrassed. "Sorry we scared you so bad back there..." The pain was easing from the drug Shil had injected. "We thought you knew more than you did, apparently."  
Swar forced her eyes to open. A battery-powered lamp was on, emitting a soft amber light that actually comforted her pained blue eyes. She was in Regert's bed-a place she'd slept more than often-with the blankets wrapped tightly around her slight scholarly frame. The red-eyed mechanic sat beside her, clasping his hands around one of hers. Shil hovered over the bed, batter-powered med unit in her hand, her dark eyes flickering with worry for Swar. Beyond her, the Soldier Hiaki leaned against the wall, a casual air about him. As before, she couldn't stop herself from cringing at the sight of the red and black striped uniform. Regert put his hand around her waist, letting it rest on her lower back, supporting Swar like a child. She leaned on him gladly, still slightly frightened by this business. Shil sat down beside her. "I... tell me what's happening..." the Aman ordered. "I'm more rational now..."  
The door slid open. Framed in the lamplight were the remaining Irkens. Silently, the group flowed in, the child clinging to Min's hand. When her turquoise eyes came to rest on Swar, they lit up. Min glanced down at her, then to Swar, and back to the child. He nodded. The child approached Swar timidly before crawling up into her lap. Innocence radiated from the brilliant eyes. "Hello," Swar murmured, smiling faintly at her. "Who are you, little one?"  
"M'Pira..." she responded, tipping her head to the side slightly. "Teacher Kaalae says you're Swar Am'en."  
"That's Aman, Pintsize," Min corrected gently, leaning against the wall a fair distance from Hiaki. The Soldier didn't seem to notice. Lidge stood beside him, her arms folded over her chest in an easy authority. The others dispersed themselves in any available spot that would provide a good view of the main conversation. "She's Tallest Purple's teacher."  
Now there was wonder where there was once innocence. "Wow..." Her small hands clutched at Swar's arm. The Scholar found herself unconsciously relaxing and hugging Pira in return for the clasp on the arm. Pira wiggled comfortably. "I like you..." was all she said.  
Lidge made herself more comfortable against the wall, folding her arms. "What do you want to know, Swar?" she asked. "We'll answer anything."  
"How on Irk do you morons think you can pull this off?"   
The others stared, stunned by the force of the scholar's question. For a moment, there was silence. "That's where Onial and Hiaki come in," Lidge responded. "Onial's supplier has agreed to supply the Uprisers with the weapons we require, and Hiaki will provide necessary inside information." There was something in Lidge's eyes that almost dared Swar to find a flaw in their plans. She looked cocky.   
The battle had begun.  
"How exactly do you propose to fight the Soldiers? We have no training, no idea how do use the weapons they have access to." Her eyes narrowed. They dared Lidge right back.  
"Hiaki and Rael can train us. Not to mention Min, for hand-to-hand," came the answer. "We'll use weapons that won't kill unless they have to."  
Off to the side, Shil muttered something about being above the Soldiers for that reason only. This earned her a glare from the more radical members of the group, while Kaml moved closer to her protectively. Cerol's blind eye kept any comments from coming.   
"What about wounded? You can be sure the Soldiers won't be so generous with our lives, or that med workers won't notice blaster wounds and turn us in."  
"We've already begun setting up secret medical centers in empty robotics facilities and the like," Lidge countered. "The med workers who'll be there are Uprisers themselves and won't turn any wounded in."  
Swar hissed to herself. She was losing to this self proclaimed Upriser and she knew it. There had to be some way to make them see reason... to make them stop this madness before it began. "You'll all be recognized if you fight them. They'll recognize you and turn you in and you'll be killed for treason," she hissed.   
"We've countered that as well," Lidge replied, the smug look decreasing at Swar's hiss, but hovered below her surface. "If we all look alike, then there's no way they can be recognized and caught."  
"Which is where my idea comes in," said Gymar. He looked at Swar, his gaze appraising her once more. The oily smile of ten years past returned to his face. "My dear Swar Aman, we are now working on black contacts and garments for all who are willing to fight for our cause."  
"The Tallest won't stand for this!"   
"Why are you fighting this Swar?!" Lidge cried, frustrated. "After all they've done to us, to Jendai, to Regert, to Wikki, to your STUDENT Swar! I'd have thought you'd jump at the chance to take revenge!"  
"This isn't my revenge, Lidge Tikem!" the scholar snapped. "All this... is your revenge for things that never concerned me! You're asking me, all of you are, to get involved in something that could kill everyone I love and destroy everything I care about. What are you trying to do here?! This can't just be a simple revenge! You don't take hundreds of innocents into battle for one life!" She was crying. "What madness is this...?"  
Regert took her in his arms. In her lap, the previously silent Pira reached out for Min, knowing the female she'd been with needed someone different to comfort her. She was lifted by confident, gray-clad arms. "Love..." he murmured. "Nothing will happen to Kasden... Nothing. I promise you... Kasden will be all right..." She could barely hear him through her confusion. Why was this happening...?  
"They released Sen from prison," Hiaki spoke up, scanning the ground. "Rael told me so. The Tallest need his protection in the Armada they are preparing." He looked up suddenly. "This meaning, they have gone back on their word to Rael that he would stay locked up permanently." Red eyes bore into Swar. "Guard Sen was the mind behind the genetic defects in Student Hatcheries."  
That was it. That was what pushed these otherwise sane Students to this madness. Swar found it hard to believe this. To believe her Kasden would go back on his word like that. Her vision blurred. The final thing she could recall was Regert supporting her as everything spun out of control and shattered into irreparable pieces.   
  
Swar was unconscious again. Needless to say, this made insulting her goodness of heart easy for Onial and Gymar. Those two... Regert was with her now, as was Lidge. The rest of the group was back inside the apartment, drinking, eating, sleeping or conversing amongst themselves. Min was putting Pira to bed in Regert's guest room, trying to keep her away from what he knew was going to be a long night of curses, alcohol and plans of possible horror that did not-and should not-concern her. Smart of him, Kaml thought, leaning his hand on a cupped palm. The elbow of the supporting hand rested on the railing of the balcony where he now stood, cool night air ruffling his antennae. Probably the best thing about Regert's apartment was its size. He could easily slip away from all that madness in there.   
The balcony's peace contrasted sharply with those imbeciles in there, Kaml decided, gazing down at the bustling city streets. Upsetting poor Swar like that just so they could gain her aid... Like she would have any information on how to contact Tallest Purple anyway. Lidge should have known better than to reopen that wound. Everyone knew that when-if-your student became Tallest, you weren't allowed to speak with them again. No one knew who'd started that rule. It didn't even make any sense. What did they think would happen? The old teacher would convince the student to step down? He shrugged. Laws weren't his thing. Tikems were much better with working through machines than they were laws. He fingered the mechanic-black collar he wore as this went through his mind.  
What was going to happen to them now? How much would this business change their lives? How many would die for the sake of change...?  
It was nearing the middle of the night now, temperature taking a drastic drop. High above him, riding in the black sky, the stars glittered down, safe multicolored diamonds all Irkens looked to for comfort. Kaml focused on the moons now. They were thin, slender crescents, the smallest of them all but invisible. The darkness shrouded most of the city, although the lights shone through. Voots of both Classes wove through the huge buildings. It was beautiful, to Kaml's orange Irken eyes.  
How much of this would be destroyed...?  
Someone opened the door behind him, letting the raucous voices of Gymar and Onial to break his solitude for a brief instant before the door was shut once more. There was a soft tap of boots as he was approached. "Kam?" Shil questioned, placing a small hand on his arm. "How're you?"  
"I'm thinking, Shil," was all that would come. Kaml hoped he didn't sound harsh. "About... what might happen... once all this gets started." He gestured randomly out over the grand city that had been named the capitol of their planet. "How much is going to be destroyed..."  
"Hopefully not much," Shil replied, coming to stand beside him. At her height, the railing was almost at eye level. "I love it here just as much as you, Kam. This place... it's all us Irkens have right now... well, this and Conventia... and that food planet. But this... this is Irk."  
He nodded. "We'll make sure not too much gets obliterated, right Shil?"  
This made her laugh. Kaml had to smile at her. Shil had the most infectious laugh of all the Irkens at West Jihi. "As long as that Solider's friends don't get too trigger happy," she grinned. "all this..." Shil's tiny gloved hand swept grandly across the view. "won't change a bit. On the outside at least."  
"And on the inside...?" he asked, gently taking the hand that had demonstrated the wonder of their city.   
Shil's blush was hidden by the darkness. She moved an imperceptive step closer to Kaml, grasping his other hand and laughing brightly at his wide eyes. "On the inside, Kaml Tikem," she murmured, almost shyly. It was his turn to move a little closer. "On the inside..." Somehow, she was inches away from the orange-eye. It was almost hard to speak with Kaml this close. "Everything... will... be..." His arms were around her, hers around him. Mother of Irk he was tall... "different..." Shil murmured, looking up into glowing orange eyes.  
"Better...?" Kaml was whispering too, leaning his head down as far as he could while Shil craned her upward.  
"Yes..." The one word was a promise, a longing, a hope and a desire all rolled into one single syllable. Once that syllable had left the air, its echoes dying away in the dark air, Kaml kissed Shil. It was almost tentative, then grew stronger and more powerful. Almost a guilty kiss. As if they knew that two should not begin to love during such troubling times... Yet they continued.  
From behind the thin pane of the guest room window, Min's gray eyes absorbed the scene before him. A smile was on his face. No matter how much changed... Kaml and Student emotions were still the same. That was all he asked for. He glanced down at little Pira sleeping in his arms. The next little Kaalae... Min had to keep things as stable as possible for her sake. For everyone's sake. That was what Irkens looked to the Kaalaes for. Leadership, guidance, stability. That was his duty to his race.   
And that was one thing he wasn't sure if he could give them.  
  
  
Sorry that was so short... and boring... The next chapter will be longer... and have more action!! 


	5. Just a Freedom Fighter, No Remorse...?

Personally, I think this chapter is gory.. but.. well, you decide for yourself.  
  
  
  
V  
Just a Freedom Fighter, No Remorse...?   
  
It had started out as a routine, late afternoon patrol of the area. Nothing special. Just a patrol, something any Soldier was glad to do. It got one out of the confines of the barracks. In casual formation, the full squad from South Shakra marched down one of the walkways reserved for those patrolling Irk's streets. Their leader, Rikea at their head. Things would have gone fine, if the smallest of their ranks had not tripped.  
His blunder caused a something of a domino effect in the ranks, an effect which caused Rikea to become the bottom of the pile. Her cry of rage made the tiny Soldier freeze in horror. What had he done...? "WHO IS RESPONSIBLE!?" the captain shouted, kicking her squad off her. "WHO!? Report to me NOW!" There was an insane frenzy in her eyes that made even the bravest Irken back away.  
"Him!" one of the heavier members of the squad reported, a gloved finger jabbing in Zim's direction. For a moment, the little one could only freeze, petrified beyond reason of his superior's wrath. Then it dawned on him. He was sprawled on the ground, like the rest of his squad, but behind him... Zim turned his head. A Student stood there, gazing down at the squad with startled yellow-green eyes. The Student, a male, wore the uniform of a robotics engineer and was scrawnier than most of the Students Zim had come across. It occurred to him, that this was the Irken Rikea would hold responsible for her humiliation. "It was that Student, Rikea Sir!"  
"That's CAPTAIN RIKEA, Skoodge!" Rikea barked, glaring at the overweight Irken. "And for that insult, you maggot, you're running laps for an hour!"  
Skoodge hid his disgust. A wise move, in Zim's opinion.  
"As for YOU, you pathetic Stoooodent!" Now her anger was focused on the unfortunate engineer. Her hand went for her blaster. "You are NOT authorized to be here! What do you think you're doing!?" The blaster came out.  
The Student froze, holding up his tools in explanation. He'd obviously been repairing one of the robots that monitored this walkway. If Rikea noticed, she didn't show it. The blaster remained in direct line with the engineer's head.   
"ANSWER ME!" Rikea barked. "Answer me NOW or you'll regret keeping your stinking noise tube shut!"  
"Re-re-repairs..." the Student stammered, shaking. His antennae fell down in submission. "The-the secur-security was... b-broken... I-I-was a-assigned this... by-by-by my sup-superior!" His trembling had gotten so bad his antennae swayed on his head, their motion a blur of black.   
By now, the squad was on its feet, hands menacingly on their weapons. They had formed a circle around the unfortunate Irken and were leering smugly. Zim stood beside Skoodge, barely an inch shorter than the hefty Irken, almost trembling himself. Too vivid were the images in his mind from the last time his Squad had done something resembling this. What confused him to no end though, was why this mattered to him so much. He had matured greatly during his time on Devastis since that incident, and was even being considered for a promotion to Invader by the Tallests themselves! So... why did harassing this one engineer disturb him to a great extent? Soldiers should be proud of their prowess!  
Zim wasn't sure who threw the first punch, but in moments, the Student was down, shuddering under the attack of more than multiple fists. He was shoved into the fray, boots and fists occasionally connecting with him, not all by accident. "Release ZIM!" the little Soldier ordered frantically. "I am ZIM! Irken SOLDIER ZIM!!" No one backed off. If anything they hit him harder. Both Zim and the engineer were crying out now, both trying to defend themselves, neither succeeding. Things were getting hazy for Zim, when a hand grasped his wrist, hauling him out roughly. Being smaller, the Soldier was able to scramble free, hastily thanking his female rescuer. "Deepest thanks, Taller Azel!"   
"Just help me get them back!" the purple-eyed female snapped down at him. "We've got company..."  
"We what?" Zim glanced around, his antennae flicking. The midget's shout of surprise broke the beating circle faster than Azel's frantic tugging on elbows and waists. Hands froze mid blow as their owners' eyes shot up to see what had startled Zim so. A moment or so passed before realization dawned, causing blasters to snap out. But before the thirty Soldier safeties could come off, fifty more clicked.  
The squad was surrounded. While their attention had been on the engineer, ten or more voot runners, all black, had swarmed around them, running silent. Within each black voot, were around five black-eyed, black-clothed Irkens of varying heights and both sexes. A blaster was in every pair of gloved hands. "Get away from the engineer, or you will be shot," a male with a fair baritone ordered, his blaster getting CO Rikea's head in its sights.  
"Drop your weapons!" said a female at his side. She must have been someone of importance, for over the left side of her chest was the Student symbol, blazing in gleaming white.   
As one, the Soldiers stepped back from the unconscious engineer, but did not drop the blasters. "Who are you fools?" Rikea snarled, staring into the barrel of the baritone male's blaster coolly. "And how dare you threaten my squad!"  
"Uprisers," replied the baritone.   
"Students who are sick of you brainless drones dominating everything, killing us with defects, and attacking us for no good reason other than you're bored," hissed an unbelievably short female.   
"Sure, it's treason, but how're you going to arrest us? You don't know who we are and..." a male with a dead antennae smirked. "we seem to have the upper hand here."  
"This is our formal announcement to you, and the rest of your stinking Class," the first female said. "We're taking a stand! Starting today, Students are fighting back until things change!" Her blaster aimed at Rikea now. "I suggest you obey us before we take first blood in this war."  
"Do as we tell you! Drop your weapons!" a scrawny male ordered, leaping down from the voot he was in, landing clumsily on one foot. His blaster went off as a result of his awkward footing, its blast grazing the side of Rikea's head. The Soldier growled, her voice filled with hate, and leveled her own blaster.   
"Soldiers will never obey you, you pathetic worms..."   
The battle began with those words. In this fight, the first to fall was the last Student to speak. Rikea fired at him, point-blank, her blast hitting him in the lower torso, felling him instantly. Student fire rained down on the Soldiers, who retaliated with blasters not set to stun their victims.   
It was hell. Student and Soldier cries mingled in commonly felt agony as Irkens of both Classes crumpled. Rose-colored blood that could have belonged to either Class mingled in pools and rivulets on the thin walkway. Despite the stun settings, the blaster bolts still opened wounds, knocking the victims unconscious before they could barely blink. Voot runners zipped around the squad as Rikea frantically radioed for backup. Few Students were downed, although most were now fighting with their hands alone down on the walkway. Zim could barely see, so buried was he in a living sea of Irken life struggling to stay alive. Shouts of, "Ro i Kaalae! Ro i Shrig! Ro i Etiaz!"* echoed from Student lips. No Soldier understood the language, but all recognized the tone as a battle cry. A battle cry they longed to drown out. Blasters fired in rapid succession, filling the air with a thin layer of smoke. This made it even harder for the Soldiers to see. Their shots became wilder, hitting their Student targets less and less often. The Students, their eyes more attuned to the smoky light for a reason none could grasp, faired much better. Soldiers fell more and more often around Zim, as he tried to duck and fire around milling, attacking bodies. He climbed over the unconscious Skoodge, aiming his blaster at the short female. Her blaster was smoking from overuse, her gloves possibly melting onto her small hands from the heat, and a maniacal grin was plastered to her pale green face. If her eyes had been purple, and her uniform the same as Azel's, Zim would have mistaken her for one of the Soldiers in his squad.  
He took careful aim and fired.  
She ducked the blast, whirling to face him. Zim darted away. More Soldiers were arriving, as were more of these so-called Uprisers. The walkway was slick with blood, crowded with dying or unconscious bodies. Noticing this, the voot runners engaged the cruisers, striking with surprising weapons. None of this made any sense to Zim. Where had Students gotten these weapons? This training? How could they be fighting so well?   
Someone engaged him with fists. Their blaster was missing. Zim dropped his back into its holster, crouching warily in case this Student decided his plan of attack faster. The Student swung with a right hook. Zim countered, bringing up his left arm to block the other's swing. He then tried a sweeping kick to knock the Student of his feet. Zim's foot was grabbed and twisted, causing his little body to flip over onto his face. He felt the hot barrel of a stun blaster press into the back of his neck. Struggling, Zim's mechanical legs shot out of his back pod, throwing the knee off his diminutive spine. With a cackle, he tackled the taller Student, causing him to slip in a slick pool of silver-pink blood. He perched on the Student's chest, removing his blaster and lining up the glaring face in the sights. Like the other Uprisers, this Student had black eyes. But unlike them, this one had a jagged line of gray running through his left eye, marring the black depths.  
Gray eyes...? Why did those eyes seem so familiar to him...? And why did they appear black? Before he could speculate further, a call Zim never thought he'd hear rang out from a Soldier's lips.   
"RETREAT!"  
Instantly, the mass of Irkens was depleted by a little more than half as the Soldiers fled into transports and voot cruisers. Their wounded were dragged off the walkway, while Student causalities were ignored with disgust. A few Soldiers were left, deemed unfit to be brought back to Barracks for treatment, as they had "disgraced" themselves in the eyes of their superiors. The Students were left to clean up the mess. Varse runners appeared, black-garbed med workers swarming out. The wounded were quickly assessed, those who were too close to death for even their back pods to save them were gently eased out of their current life with a single injection. Fortunately, these cases were few. Only three Irkens died on that walkway. The rest of the casualties were packed up and shipped off to Upriser med centers.  
Seeing their wounded leaving safely, those leaders who were still in working condition rounded up their units. Even with their disguises, Lidge Tikem could still recognize her group. They were the Uprising's prime force, and Lidge its top female leader. Min, Regert, Shil, Cerol... Kaml...? "Where's Kam?" the female asked, frightened. "Where is he?! Has anyone seen him!?"  
"Check with the head med!" called Min, already on the move. Shil was close behind him, flanked by Cerol and Regert. Lidge outdistanced them all, grabbing the nearest medical worker by the collar. The shorter Student looked up at her and slicked her antennae back in submission.   
"Mechanic. Kaml Tikem," Lidge snapped, never releasing her hold on the smaller female. "Where is he? Is he dead? In a varse? Where is my teacher!?"  
Min carefully pried her fingers off before they dug into the other Irken's neck. The med worker shot him a grateful look before speaking, as Lidge grabbed the gray-eyed male's hand for reassurance. "We loaded him on the first wave out, Miss Tikem," the med worker replied, straightening her collar. "He had a wound from a blaster in the lower torso, possible damage to internal organs..."  
Now Lidge clung to Min, not just his hands, but his shoulders as well, holding her dearest friend close to her. He was trembling too. "Is.. he going to be all right?" he asked politely, retaking one of Lidge's hands for mutual comfort. They hadn't noticed the rest of the unit come up behind them, as they kept quiet for their own respective reasons.   
"Should be. You all just go home. Get some rest." There was a faint smile on the med worker's face. "You front-liners have more respect from us than anyone, now that we've seen what you can do."  
"Thank you..." Lidge murmured numbly. Her antennae drooped. "May... may I... ask you something, Miss?" The med worker turned from leaving, nodding to permit the request. "May I come with you? I need to make sure my teacher is all right."  
Another gentle nod. "Of course Miss Tikem. It's good to see teachers are still so loved by their graduated students." She motioned Lidge after her, heading to her transport. Lidge followed. But when Min tried to accompany her, the West Jihi boss turned and stopped him.   
"No Min," the magenta-eye ordered, holding him back with an upraised palm. "Go home... please."  
"Nothing on Irk would make me!" he snapped, clenching his fists. "Kam was my teacher too, blast you! I need to see him just as much as you!"  
"Nothing?" echoed Lidge. "I can't believe you said that Min! What about Pira!? Did you think of her? Mother blast it, you're almost as bad as Jendai was when it comes to a student of your own!"  
Min stepped back, stunned. "Fine," was all he said. His antennae flicked in, his back rigid as he stalked back to a black voot, Regert and Cerol following him reluctantly. Shil stayed behind, eyes trained nervously on her boots. After a moment, the tiny female spoke up.  
"Lidge... do you... are you... requiring me... to.. go too?" Her voice was smaller than her stature.  
"No Shil..." Lidge replied, sighing. She knew all about her old teacher's so-called love for Shil Haye. She knew almost everything. "You can come. Provided you don't try and kiss him in my presence." If anything, Lidge could never accept Shil as her teacher's lover. It felt... wrong. She tensed, feeling Shil hug her in impulsive gratitude for the action. With a sigh, Lidge disentangled the wry arms and made her way towards the varse.  
  
It was stormy that night. On Irk, stormy classified as windy, with a heavy drizzle of rain. In the apartment district, stormy meant Min got off the elevator drenched, exhausted, and smarting from small injuries he didn't know he'd had. Silver liquid dripped off of antennae that were plastered to his green head. His back ached the worst.   
Blasted Soldiers...   
The corridor echoed with his footsteps. All he wanted to do was to get home and into bed. Thoughts Kaml, combined with the images from the battle, clouded his mind. Sleep... sleep always comforted him. As did his home. Although, tonight, when he stepped through the door after pressing his access code in, he was assaulted by memories.  
  
...Hello, Teacher Kaalae... ma'am. I hope it's all right that I'm drinking this. You told me I should find something to eat, but there was nothing so I drank this...  
... It's fine Min...   
Warm silver water, filled with dirty dishes...  
... Food and excitement does that to you. Night, shortie...  
... Night, Teacher Kaalae...  
  
Min shook his head hard, not caring that his vision swam a bit afterwards. There were times... especially since Pira, that he'd begun to regret moving into Jendai's apartment after graduation from Kaml's care. He kept remembering the too-brief times with his original teacher. And they hurt. Worse than his back did now. Exhaustion set in, as he finally found the couch and flopped down with an audible groan. The décor and furniture of the apartment had not changed a bit, remaining that bizarre blue-gray combination that suited him fine. Most of Jendai's things remained as well. His plans for inventions, mechanical books, cooking things, holographs... pretty much everything had stayed. Except for the door between his apartment and the next. That he'd removed. Removed and torn it apart. Kaml had told him what the Irken who had lived behind that door had done to Jendai.   
He rolled over onto his stomach, feeling his spine crack. Mother of... what had that midget done? Ah, well. He'd just get his computer to check him over later. Right now what he needed was a good drink... and sleep. These thoughts were shattered when a sleepy-eyed Pira appeared in the doorway that led to her room. Her wide turquoise eyes were dull with sleep that had not yet been shaken off. A blanket from her bed was clutched in her hand. Min looked at her, sighing heavily and shaking off his own sleep urges.   
"Pintsize... you're supposed to be in bed," he groaned, holding out tired arms for her. "You hear me walk in or something?"  
"Uh huh," the little one replied sleepily. She came over and buried her face in Min's shirt, her thin arms wrapping tightly around his waist. Min carefully hefted her into his lap. "You're loud."  
The gray-eye hugged her in return, humming to himself. He'd always liked the smell young Irkens had. It was strange, sort of a spicy-sweet, almost like female Irkens, accept with less spice and more sweet. By most standards, Min was too young to have a student in his care, about three years shy of the age most deemed appropriate. Dear little Pira would never have come to him, had Jendai not given him the Kaalae name all those years ago. "Kaalae Talent" as it was called, was considered too precious to waste waiting for three years. "M'sorry, Pintsize," he murmured, hugging her tightly and trying not to wince. His arms hurt. "I'll be more quiet next time. I promise."  
"Where'd you go, Teacher Kaalae?"  
Now Min did wince. That name... that title... he had not heard them in the same sentence since he'd spoken them years ago. He didn't think it would hurt so bad. "I... I can't tell you now, Pira," he answered. Her arms tightened around him. "Everything'll be explained someday, but I can't tell you right now. But..." He leaned back, rocking the tiny Irken in his arms. "I'm gonna have to be coming and going for a while... okay? Don't worry though." There were tears in his eyes that Min impatiently brushed away on Pira's curled antennae. "I'll always come back to you though... I promise."  
Pira purred under the attention, snuggling into Min with a sigh. "Okay," she murmured.  
Still rocking her, Min rose, ignoring the aches in his own body in an effort to be a better teacher. He carried her to bed. Pira was already asleep by the time he lay her down in the warm turquoise sheets. For a long time after, he stayed by her side, just watching the tiny chest rise and fall as she slept. Was this, Min wondered, how all teachers felt around their student? Had Jendai ever, during the one night he'd been healthy enough to, watched Min's breathing? Had he even cared like this? Or had that Gymar been right all along...?   
Had... had Jendai... even loved him? The blue-eye had never said so. Never acted like it either. Remembering the last time he'd seen his teacher hurt more than Pira calling him "teacher Kaalae" did. Jendai had abandoned him, he thought bitterly. Left him in Kaml's care without a single word to tell Min if he cared or not. Hands trembling, Min ruffled his student's antennae, smiling a heartsick smile at her purring. "I love you, Pira," he muttered. "I love you so much... and I swear to the Mother of Irk... I swear I will never be to you, how Jendai was to me."  
Without another word, Min left, heading for his own bed and his own dreams.  
  
"What was the final death toll?"  
"Five. Three Soldiers and two Students, including Captain Rikea of the Soldiers."  
"Good. That rat's dead."  
"Sixteen are seriously wounded: six Students and ten Soldiers."  
"Including Kaml..."  
"We won though, Lidge. I thought that was all you wanted."  
Lidge Tikem fiddled with her gloved hands. "I did..."  
"Until Kaml was shot," Regert said, nodding slightly. The Uprising's male co-leader was responsible for collecting distributing information of the casualties after the battles, and had been contacted by Lidge for an update. They were using the Uprising Med center's terminal to speak, as it was the only one programmed to eliminate those hacking into the system. "How's he doing, anyway?"  
"They've got him in a ReGen pod," she muttered, still examining her hands. "He can't be in too long, because there's others who need it more. But... they think he'll be fine."  
Regert nodded. "Good. Last thing we need is him dying on us." A casual glance over his shoulder at a clock. "I need to get some sleep. We do have work tomorrow. Not on rotation."  
"Yeah, let the 2nd unit go out tomorrow. We've got so many volunteers we could give everyone a day off and still be formidable," agreed Lidge, massaging her temples. "More of us are tired of those drones than I'd thought."  
Another nod. "Hopefully I'll see you tomorrow, Lidge. Good luck with Kam... and tell Shil hello for me." The red-eyed face faded from view as the connection was severed.  
Lidge sighed, rising from the terminal. An exhausted looked Upriser, who hadn't found time to change yet, swooped in on the available seat. "Gotta call my student," he replied, monotone. "Make sure... he's okay."  
"Good teacher," she murmured, walking back down the hall towards the regeneration room where Shil waited and Kaml lay. Neither female had left his side since their arrival to the "med center," which was just an abandoned robotics facility that had been converted for their needs. Halls were constantly being scrubbed clean for fear of contamination. It gave the place a temporary, phony feeling that only added to the nervousness one got from any med center. Lidge was stopped at the door to the ReGen room by Shil, who looked pleased.  
"They moved Kaml to recovery!" the tiny female all but cheered. Lidge found her hands clasped by an Irken with shining green eyes. "We can see him!"  
"Let's go then!" Lidge had to smile. Shil's emotions were contagious. "Hope he's doing okay."   
The two of them headed down the hall, boots tapping importantly against the sanitary ground. Other Irkens skirted out of Lidge's way, flicking their antennae down in salute for the taller female. Shil kept hers down the entire time. There were too many Irkens taller than her for her to keep flicking them. Both females kept close together, both unnerved by the med center. Kaml's room was guarded by two Uprisers, in case there was ever a raid done on the place. Lidge greeted them with the Upriser salute; right arm up in a threatening fist, as if she were about to strike. They saluted back and let her pass. It was good to have respect among one's Class, Lidge reflected.  
Several Students were in the room. All were unconscious, hooked up to various life-supporting machines and fluid drips that hung from the ceiling. It was nearly dead silent, save for the various muted beeps from machines. Everyone who was hooked up had their back pods removed and the multicolored objects now sat in rechargers beside their owners. A few conscious Students sat beside their loved ones, concerned. Pushing the need to aid their fellows away, the two went to the side of the one they could easily recognize as Kaml.  
He was pale, looking only as if he were asleep, fluid drip stuck in his wrist and life systems activated. The notes suspended over his bed told them he'd suffered internal injuries to a few major organs. The blankets were pulled back to show the ugly wound blasted into his torso. It no longer seemed to bleed, but the remnants of the rush of life-giving fluid were still stuck to the bandage. For a moment, all they could do was stare at the frail Student who was usually so full of life... so warm to those he loved...   
Shil stayed back, allowing Lidge to be the first at her teacher's side. The magenta-eyed female moved slowly, almost frightened of what she'd see, closer to him, reaching tentatively out to grasp his hand with hers. Lidge choked, her eyes filling with tears that were impatiently rubbed away. She had to be strong, she was the leader. It was her responsibility to keep strong and not show her grief. She had to be strong... always. For everyone who needed her.   
Fighting both tears and her trembling, Lidge Tikem sat on the edge of her teacher's bed, clutching his limp hand to her chest. Shil stood attentively beside her, not hiding her grief. Lidge barely glanced at her. It was her duty to be strong for Kaml, not Shil's. It was also her duty to keep her teacher safe, as it was his to protect her while she was young. It hurt to know his injury was the cause of her own blind cause. Her teacher was oblivious to her turmoil, unconscious and trying to heal. Humming quietly, more to soothe herself than anything, she stroked the seemingly lifeless fingers in her hand. How many hours she would wait for those orange eyes to open, Lidge didn't know, or care for that matter.   
"I love you Kam..." she whispered, kissing her teachers fingers lightly. "And I'll be here with you... until you wake up and tell me everything's going to be okay again..." Again, the Student choked. The enormity of what had happened that day was finally hitting her. And it hurt. So much life... gone or almost snuffed out... all in one battle... how much more would be taken away?   
"I need you to tell me this is all going to be okay..."  
  
  
  
* "Ro i Kaalae! Ro i Shrig! Ro i Etiaz!" means "For the Kaalae! For the Shrig! For the Student Class!" 


	6. I Tell It Like It Is

VI  
Unlike Those Who Hide The Truth I Tell It Like It Is   
  
There was not one Irken on the planet who liked being woken up. Especially by the planet-wide waking system each Irken had. It was so... annoying during times when all you wanted to do was lie blissfully asleep next to the one you loved. Even if that one was kicking you in the shins for making said alarm so late.   
  
"What on Irk possessed you to set that thing for 700!? By the mother of IRK! Do you know how much overtime your little fiasco yesterday is going to give me!? And I'm already late!"  
  
"Swaaar... I'm exhausted..." A boot flew from its customary spot across the room to come in contact with Regert Shrig's head. He groaned, sitting up. It seemed like only an hour since he'd lain down in the comfort of his bed with Swar curled up beside him, gently "attending" to his minor wounds. Despite her ministrations, they still ached. Hopefully, Lidge would take pity on her fellow fighters and give them a light workload that day. Not to mention there was a meeting of the Uprisers that night. "You going to the Uprising meeting, Swar?" he asked casually, stretching. Like Swar, his robotic legs were splayed all over the place, some implanted in the bed itself. The female's were already retracted into her pod, while his took some time to draw themselves into their customary spots.   
  
"No way on Irk I am," the scholar responded tartly from across the room. "I'm going to have enough trouble picking up THESE pieces without me helping you shred more of society to clean up." She glared at him. "Give me my shirt, you dirty rat. NOW."  
  
Regert picked it carefully off of one of the hovering lamps beside his bed. How it had gotten there... was a mystery. "You want it? Come get it," he said cockily. "I know how your boss hates it when you scholars walk in with only your undersuit on."  
  
Light blue eyes rolled. The black, skintight garment, which Student females and all Soldiers wore, was already on her, having been tossed in a more accessible part of the room than her shirt. "Give it here, give it now. I need that! The Tallest are going to have Tolia's arse unless she can calm them down! And you know Kas was hatched paranoid. I need to be there for her!" Delicate green fingers snatched the shirt away, aiding in the process of pulling it over her head. The scholar's backpod reattached as soon as the shirt was on. Next went the gloves. "Get out of bed love," Swar ordered. "You need to go to work."   
  
He groaned. "I hurt, Swar..."   
  
"No more massages! No more... last night! Go, get a shower, eat some food, go to work and beg Lidge to let you off easy."   
  
"Fine..." he sighed, finally rolling out of bed. It was only then that it occurred to him that his pants had vanished. Regert looked up in time to see Swar throw them into the bathroom. He winced. She was a vengeful thing...   
  
"Get!" With that she was out the door, her light blue satchel thrown over her shoulder.  
  
It was hard to get up. Everything ached, forcing Regert to almost roll out from under the comforting blankets. The contact with the freezing floor woke him better than most anything had. "I hate mornings..." he mumbled into the floor, making his battered body rise. The thought of Lidge going easy on her fellow warriors was the only thing that kept him moving. Regert imagined the others who had survived felt the same way he did today. "This is the worst morning after ever..."   
  
The shower almost put him back to sleep. It soothed his aches better than even Swar had. A clean shirt was found, as well as his gloves and boots. His pants were fine for that day, seeing as all the other pairs were being cleaned. Swar must have known that. A few minutes after the shower, Regert was in his voot, getting his green arse to West Jihi as fast as the speed limit allowed. He hoped he wouldn't get skinned for being late.   
  
As it turned out, he shouldn't have worried. Min was pulling in the same time he was, a sleepy-eyed Pira hanging on him. The two paused outside West Jihi's roof elevator. "Sir," acknowledged Min with an antennae twitch. "How're you holding up?" The gray-eye shifted Pira in his arms, allowing the child's little head to rest on his shoulder comfortably.   
  
"Stiff. Sore. Want to blow my alarm up. Same as usual. You?" Idle fingers tapped the call button again.  
  
A gusty sigh. "Hoping Lidge won't kill me," he answered. "You know how mad she gets when we turn up late."  
  
"Aw, I think she'll go easier on us... considering yesterday."  
  
"You think They've heard yet...?"  
  
"Swar was panicking, so... yes. They probably have." The elevator came then, and they both stepped on. Pira woke, whimpering faintly to protest her teacher's movement. Her soft sound made Regert smile. Ten years could lessen pain enough sometimes, make it fade into the background so you could forget it after a time. "May I?" he asked softly, his voice almost hidden by the whirr of machinery.   
  
Min gave him a sidelong gaze, cradling the tiny Pira close to his gray-clad chest, as if someone were going to harm her. After a moment of giving his old boss a withering, gray stare, he nodded. "Be gentle... she really needs her sleep. I figure she can have one day off... even if I don't," murmured the Kaalae.   
  
With utmost care, Regert reached out to stroke Pira's curled antennae. His movements were jerky from disuse, but the gentle touch of a student's antennae by a teacher was something no Irken would ever forget how to do. Pira purred softly. A tight smile graced the red-eye's face. "You take care of her, Min... all right?" he ordered. "You never know how much you miss the nightmares and the questions until..." Regert trailed off, unable to finish. He remained silent for the rest of the ride down, simply tracing the curl of Pira's thin antennae.   
  
Their exit was greeted by Lidge herself, who looked more worn than either of them. Her antennae drooped lifelessly, the dark circles beneath her dull, magenta eyes matching the color of the limp appendages. The female mechanic uniform was wrinkled unkemptly. She looked terrible. "We're going to close today..." Lidge said slowly, her voice cracking with weariness. "Gonna close at lunchbreak... we all need sleep..."  
  
"What about those who weren't involved?" Min asked skeptically, his eyes casting around the workfloor. There were few eyes that weren't dulled by lack of sleep. Jeweled tones were blurred with gray. A pair of dark green gems were missing, their owner probably still away with her lover. He sighed. "Well... we could use it..."  
  
Regert nodded. "What we got today?"   
  
"Pretty simple..." the new boss answered, passing out datapads. "Servicing, mostly... minor accident repairs..."  
  
"Good," murmured Min, shifting Pira in order to take his assignment. Another whimper of protest from his charge. "Easy stuff..." Turquoise eyes fluttered open. "Hey, Pintsize..."  
  
The child's oversized eyes blinked, a black-gloved hand rubbing over them sleepily. She seemed dazed at her surroundings. "Where'm I, Teacher Kall-ae?" Pira mumbled softly. "I wanna seep..."  
  
"Shhh... I know... Just go back to sleep and I'll do the work today... okay?"  
  
"'Kay..."  
  
Lidge stood beside Regert, watching Min head off to his workstation, Pira cradled in his arms protectively. The sight hurt them both. One, because she feared her teacher would never open his eyes again and greet her with a sarcastic remark. The other with a deep longing to hold his small student again. They both sighed.   
  
"It'll be all right, Lidge."  
  
"I hope. That's all we can do now..."  
  
"Hope?"  
  
"Yes..."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
This wasn't happening! How had things gotten so bad without him even realizing it? He'd thought he'd known the extent of the problem... but apparently he'd been wrong. So wrong. Five Irkens killed... by their own kind! Irkens didn't fight Irkens! They just didn't! He shuddered. It was so... wrong! To slaughter your own race... He felt sick.   
  
Red had turned pale. Turned pale and shook for a minute. That in itself was frightening. That Soldier feared nothing, not even his own death. But this... this horrible ordeal actually made him tremble. Uprising. The Students, no, his Class, was rebelling against the way things had been for centuries, against him, against the Soldiers. It had taken them at least half an hour to get over the initial shock, and then the entire night to figure out what to do.   
  
And they still had little idea what they were supposed to do. So many Students... the entire Class could not be tried for treason. There would be too many innocents. At least, he hoped there were still innocents. There had to be some who weren't against everything. Some... anyone. Nausea set in at these thoughts, and he sank into the nearest chair, wanting to actually cry. Only the deep desire to correct this problem kept him from breaking down in sobs. It was so farfetched. So horrific for Irkens to kill each other. How had things gotten this bad? And without him knowing?  
  
Someone entered. He didn't look up. He was too deep in his horror. Too filled with the atrocity of this awful mess. In fact, he didn't even know someone had entered until he felt a light hand on the crook of his elbow, where the arm bent to rest against the arm of the chair more comfortably. He jumped.   
  
"Easy, easy Kas... It's only me..."  
  
His eyes widened. That voice... by the Mother of Irk he knew that voice better than he knew his own. He needed that voice right now more than he needed anything else.   
"Swar...?" he choked, disbelieving his own hearing.   
  
"Shhhh... yes, I'm here..."  
  
Not even bothering to question her sudden appearance, Purple pulled his old teacher close, trembling despite her comforting presence. It was so very welcome. Swar gently rubbed the back of his neck, humming to soothe them both. No one else would dare come in and disturb them. "You have no idea... how happy I am to see you again, Swar..." he muttered, mostly to her delicate antennae. "And you know... sweet mother, you shouldn't be here."  
  
"Hush, Kas," Swar said, her tone equally soft to his stress-strained senses. "Tolia said you needed me. She's keeping Red busy now... it's okay. I'm here to help..."  
  
Her closeness made it feel just like old times. Despite the fact he was the one cradling her in his arms. Mother of Irk, had Swar always been this small...? He felt so awkwardly tall. Fleetingly, he wondered if Swar knew all about what he'd been forced to do to his best friend. Did she know the truth, or had lies-like the ones he now knew he'd been fed all his life-clouded her mind? Time went by. Neither one was sure how much time went by before Swar let him go and slid back down to the floor. She took one of his too-long fingers in her hand, her own lengthy digits creaking from overwork. Violet eyes took this in with concern. "You look so tired, Swar..." Purple said softly. "Is... this fight getting to you as well...?"  
  
Swar met his gaze, sadly, then looked away. "I fear you've underestimated the scale of this, Kasden," was all she said, and this murmured into a hand she hadn't held in far too many years.  
  
"How bad is it...?" His question was asked to the windows. There was a tense silence, broken by stifled sobs from Swar. That brought his gaze hurriedly back to his old teacher. Tears were streaming down her face. Bemused, he handed her a small sponge from a dispenser to mop them up with, tightening his hold on her suddenly small hand. "Swar... Please. Mother of Irk, I need information I can't get any other way..."  
  
She broke down, clutching the sponge to her face, sobbing hysterically. Stunned, the Tallest got out of the chair and knelt beside her. Swar jerked her head up. Wide, startled eyes regarded him before diving into his arms a second time. "It's horrible, Kas..." she choked between sobs. "Terrible... Soldiers are beating us in the streets, so we go and try to kill them all. We're no better than they are. No better at all."  
  
He lifted her chin with a gentle finger. "How bad is it...?" Purple asked again, trying to be more soothing. Never once did it cross his mind that her outburst could be because of an involvement with this horrid mess. Swar could never be involved in such a thing. She was too caring, too gentle. There was no chance she knew anything more than had been aired on the daily reports. "You can tell me. I just need to know so I can help..."  
  
"You'll help us?" she almost yelped. There was so much hope shining in those light blue eyes. "You'll help us?"  
  
"Yes..." he relented after a moment or two. No student could resist the urge to help the Irken who had assisted them so much. He sighed. There was both his Class and the entire populous to think of now. Not to mention this new plan for galactic conquest... but Red could deal with Impending Doom for now. If he could just do anything to try and stop this slaughter, he would. No more death... Unconsciously, the Tallest tightened his hold on her. "What do I have to do to help? Tell me what's going on and I'll do whatever I can..."  
  
"You can't arrest any of them..." Swar hissed, tightening her arms around him. She sounded so sure of that statement that her old student was stunned. "Not a single one. They are good, Irkens, who love their Tallest, but they are misguided by hate for the other Class. They don't know what they're doing... by the Mother of Irk, they have no idea. I swear to you." Finally, she looked up at him. "They can't see what they're doing..."  
  
There was a heartsickness in Swar's eyes, eyes Purple had always thought were beautiful when they welcomed him home from play with his best friend. He hated their new dullness, their damp fear and pain. "Swar... they haven't even made their demands clear... I can't do anything until they tell us..." he murmured, fingering her antennae comfortingly. It felt so strange... the roles were reversed now. He felt like the teacher, with Swar Aman as his student, rather than the way things had been. "I need you to tell me..."  
  
Apparently, Swar felt the way he did about their new positions, for she hugged him close and buried her tearstained face in the Tallest's chest. "They want it to stop. The beating, the unfairness, the discrimination. They can't take Soldiers being seen as superior to them only because they are nearly emotionless and blow things up. They can't take it anymore..." She was sobbing again. "I can't take it anymore!"  
  
"You...?" Purple pushed her back suddenly, stunned. It couldn't be... He had to have misinterpreted her. The light blue eyes gazed mutely back at him, neither denying nor concurring with his thoughts. "Swar..." he murmured. "are you involved in this slarking mess?" His hands set heavily on his old teacher's shoulders, amplifying the importance of the question.  
  
She reacted as if he'd smacked her. "Kas!" The fear and pain were replaced with a stunned horror. "How could you think that?!" she cried. " 'Thou shalt not kill'! Kas, that was the first thing I ever taught you! Why would I go back on my beliefs?" Her arms were outstretched, pleading with him desperately. "I have no reason..."  
  
"I'm sorry..." was all he could say. The Tallest made no move to comfort her again.   
  
"Yes, I know you are..." His teacher would not meet his gaze. "Can you help us? Your Class, I mean..."  
  
"I'll do my best, Swar. And I'll let Red know so.. his Class can get their act together. I'll do as much as I can."  
  
She turned to leave, her antennae drooping. "That Red has damaged you, Kasden," Swar said, not even gracing him with a glance. "He's made you suspicious of your Class. He's broken your trust in us. That is what Soldiers do to those who feel..."  
  
"I thought you said you weren't Classist, Swar..." he said to his folded legs.   
  
Swar Aman didn't respond. She left, boots clicking regretfully against his floors. Purple looked after her retreating back for a long moment. He knew he'd hurt her. That hadn't been his intent... not at all. Why did he always hurt those he cared for so deeply? Was he just destined for to cause others pain...? Purple sighed, rising. All he could do now was go and talk to Red...  
  
And hope he wouldn't say something stupid.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
It was a moonless night, that night. The absence of natural light made things all the more easy for the many Uprisers to enter their place of meeting without detection. A meeting of Irkens this large almost always attracted attention, but tonight the patrols' vigilance wasn't up to par, the Soldiers too shaken by the open attack on their fellow Class members. Well over one thousand Uprisers were packed into the meeting hall-one of the few on Irk. Most meeting halls were [no 'were'] had been moved to the planet Conventia by now. Each Irken that went into the building was carefully checked for concealed weapons and DNA scans were run on all to make sure there were no Soldiers among those entering. Monitors were placed everywhere to make sure there were no spies, and that no one was listening in. The secrecy was absolute.   
  
The meeting building was identical to all the others of Irken make. A huge half-dome filled with circular tiers that rose as high as they could, almost to the top of the ceiling. At the very top, sturdy bars were erected. Any Irken could hang comfortably from them with their robotic legs in order to gaze down on the proceedings. The circular speaker's platform was on a tall, skinny pillar. The platform was a converted hoverdisk of sorts that had been built to enormous proportions in order to accommodate multiple speakers or demonstrations. Directly above and below it were hovering screens built into rotating circles, so that no matter where one sat, one was always sure to see the speaker.   
  
One male and one female stood alone on the platform tonight. The female stood confidently, arms coolly folded as she waited for the appointed time to begin. Her antennae twitched at the dull roar of minute conversation among the hundreds of her fellow Irkens. She was every bit the leader they craved. The one who would lead their Uprising into victory against the drones of the other Class. Beside her, the male looked less confident. He held his hands behind his back, fidgeting slightly, his one working antenna drooping a little with apprehension while the other flopped in his face. "Looking for her?" the female asked. The voice amplifiers weren't on yet, so their conversation remained private.  
  
Her question seemed to jar him out of his nervousness. "What? Who?" he asked.  
  
"Swar," the female responded lightly. "I know you asked her to come to this. There's no way you wouldn't. Not after what you most likely did last night..."  
  
"Lidge... how do you know what I did last night?"  
  
That question earned him an eye roll. "You males... every morning after you do that dance with your lover, you keep this weird blush. Don't tell me Min didn't notice it in the elevator. I'm sure HE knows about such things by now."  
  
Regert didn't have time to respond. A clock chimed and the meeting began. The entire crowd fell silent as Lidge stepped forward, her hands now behind her back as the V-amps kicked on. "Uprisers!" she said, saluting the assembled smoothly. The masses responded with a roar of approval and a return salute. "Welcome! I know you have traveled far-some of you anyway-to come here tonight, and I thank you for it." More cheering ensued. Lidge nodded at all the recognition. "By now, the 1st and 2nd units have fought their battles. The 2nd only small skirmishes, and the 1st took initial blood in this uprising. Both types of fighting are what we need! Any victory, no matter how small, will aid our cause."  
  
The cheering was deafening. Lidge was loved, and she knew it. She hurt though. Kaml was not here to see her triumphant debut. He was who she had written her speech in front of, he who had encouraged her the whole time. He who she had hurt so badly in her war...   
  
"I have some news to report to you, though you probably already know it. It will be terrible to hear, but I urge you to think of what might have been lost! Hundreds! Possibly thousands to Soldier hands had we not acted," she paused here, letting that sink in to the Irkens watching her. "Unfortunately... in the combined fights of the two units who have fought, the death toll numbers ten. Five from each Class." Mournful sounds from parts of the hall reached the female's attention, and she flattened her antennae in sympathy. "Twelve have been seriously wounded on our side, though, those who have been wounded are well into recovery. They should be fine in anywhere from a month to a few weeks. You shall see them again soon, I assure you!" More cheering ensued. "I thank you for your support. I thank you dearly. It means much to me, as my teacher was one of those wounded twelve."   
  
A murmuring filled the hall. This was news they had not heard yet! And new news was intriguing news. Lidge was ready for this though.  
  
"I realize such news is what interests you, yet I am afraid we must press on. My strategist, Hiaki, has new battle tactics I must reveal to you. I know a great deal of you mistrust Hiaki for Class reasons, and I agree with your apprehension. But, I can tell you he was sent to us by Rael himself. My co-leader has them and is ready to read them to you. Your seats are equipped with recorders that will keep a note of them for your later study."   
  
The murmur this time was excited. They all knew how just Rael was to either Class, and how he actually seemed a Student in a Soldier body at times.   
  
Regert stepped up, taking out a datapad in Hiaki's neat hand. A hush claimed the hall as the Irkens waited for the hefty male to speak. He went over the new plans in his deep voice; plans that were mostly surprise attacks followed by hasty retreat patterns in case they were needed. Most Students took their own notes on datapads. Teachers who had brought their students with them were too involved with their notes to keep their eyes on their youngsters. The younger Irkens squirmed in their seats, making faces at one another in an effort to keep from being bored.   
  
"Teacher Kaalae?"   
  
"Hmm?" Hard gray eyes were studying Lidge, black-gloved hands still. No datapad was in Min's hands. He didn't even seem to be really concentrating on the spoken words.   
  
"Yeah, Pintsize?"  
  
Pira gazed up at him. "Can I go get candies?"  
  
"By yourself?"  
  
"Nuh uh." She pointed to a small group of students, the tallest of them being barely thirteen. "They're comin too."  
  
Min eyed them, watching them squirm under his gaze. The tallest matched him with eyes the same color as Min's skin. "Where're you going exactly?"  
  
"'Cross the road," she answered, hugging him. "There's paths so hovers won't hit us."  
  
Her teacher considered this. "I want all of you to stay in a group, you hear me? Stay away from patrols. If I find out anyone strayed..." Min let the threat hang as the group nodded nervously to him. He hugged Pira briefly. "Be careful, Pira. I love you, you know?"  
  
"'Course!" She hugged him back, then scampered off to see her friends.   
  
Min was left alone for the remainder of Regert's seminar. His mind was on other things. It had always been hard for the Kaalae to focus on things like this for long periods of time. His work was another story. An entire week could pass or half the planet could blow up and Min wouldn't notice, as long as his work was not disturbed. He settled back in his seat and tried to fall asleep.  
  
Up on the platform, Lidge watched Regert explain the more complex battle tactics, pausing often to explain the Soldier terms Hiaki had used while writing the plans. It was nice to see the old boss taking charge of things again. She missed it. Regert had never minded the endless paperwork involved with being a Boss. He even seemed to enjoy it at times. Lidge Tikem loathed paperwork. She, like her teacher and Min, was much more at home on the workfloor than in her office. Most mechanics were. Just... Lidge had never been very good at fixing things. Even though she hated it... Lidge was much better at paperwork than she was at repairing a voot cruiser that was in fifty pieces. She'd always felt as if she'd let everyone she loved down that way.   
  
The meeting went on for a few more hours. Questions were asked and answered, plans were made, more volunteers were recruited... everything went as planned. Lidge was about to call the meeting to a close when a sudden commotion in one of the sections she faced did it for her. Several Students were shouting at each other and making for the exits. Even from this distance, Lidge could see the distinct gray and black colors of her closest friend running next to a mottled dark blue, black and milky green. Regert saw too, and took over the remainder of the meeting. Quickly, Lidge skittered down the pillar to the floor with the aid of her robotic legs. She landed among a milling group of standers that hadn't arrived in time to get a seat in the stands. They parted for her, but she hardly noticed them.   
  
What was wrong with Min? Why hadn't Pira been with him? Lidge dashed through the corridors on her robotic legs, stepping over the Irkens in her path. She had to find Min and make sure something had not happened to Kaml or anyone else that she hadn't been notified of. The street-level exit came and was used by the magenta-eyed female. She looked frantically for any familiar color on the street.  
  
It wasn't hard to find them.   
  
Across the street, easily seen between the blurs of Irkens driving hover vehicles, was a cluster of Students standing their ground before a few drunken Soldiers. Lidge winced and kicked her robotics into action again, heading for one of the bridged pathways leading to the other side.   
  
Min held Pira close to him, comforting her as best he could. Mother of Irk... how had he allowed this to happen to her? He never should have let her go! This was his fault. Cerol, the one who had come to tell him of the incident knelt beside him, his blaster at the ready and his blind eye to Min. "Where was she shot?" he asked, his voice smooth and cool despite the inebriated Soldiers currently arguing with the teachers of the other candy-seeking students.  
  
"Her hip..." Min murmured, tightening his arms around Pira while pressing his palm to her wound. It bled badly through his fingers. "Deep..."  
  
Cerol nodded. How he had been at the scene first was a question Min would never ask, and thus never understand. "We'll have to drive these brainless brutes off before we can do anything, Min," he said in that same placid tone. "They should not be hard to deal with... they are intoxicated." An eyelid quirked amusedly. "Highly so."  
  
"What was your first clue...?" Min growled. He could feel Pira shaking with the hurt in his arms. Her tears were dampening his uniform. She was so scared and in such pain. His student... All because of Lidge's stupid war. His eyes hardened. "She's hurt bad, Cer."  
  
Another nod, this one slower and more considering. His antennae flicked. "Lidge is coming, Min." The gloved hands tightened on the blaster as the Soldiers stepped forward. One of the teachers drew her blaster, the safety clicking onto the stun setting all Students used. The others followed her lead, Lidge drawing behind Min and Cerol.   
  
"What happened here?" Lidge asked, watching the first teacher order the Soldiers off while the others backed her.   
  
"The Soldiers are drunk and attacked this group of students while they were making a run to the sweet shop," Cerol responded. "Little Pira here was shot in her hip..." His eyes narrowed at the response the Soldiers were giving the other teachers. "We need to get her out of here... but they are not cooperating..." He stood up and approached the Soldiers. "I will have to intervene..."   
  
Cerol Haye was not tall. He was average to say the most, about 3'51/2". Scrawny too, with little muscle build anywhere that was visible. Combine the physical disposition with his soft voice, mild manners, and unusual way with words made for an Irken that was far more comfortable fading into the background than he was picking fights with Soldiers. The only things he possessed that had any imposition at all were his eyes. Cerol had never grown into them, and thus they were huge in his face, larger than most Irkens' were. Whenever he turned his blind eye to you, one was never sure what he was looking at, though, most got the eerie impression of their very spirits being glared into by that eye. His good eye glowed even in direct sunlight. He had altered his uniform to match his unusual eyes as well. Half a milky green with black glove, waistband and boot, the other half dark blue with milky green glove, waistband and boot.   
  
For those reasons alone, the eyes and the uniform, the Soldiers stepped back a pace. The usually placid mechanic gave them a lopsided smile, continuing casually forward. "Sta' baa!" one of the Soldiers slurred. He listed to one side, running into one of his more sober fellows.  
  
"You injured a child, sirs," Cerol informed them. He tipped his head sideways so his blind eye was focused more on them than on anything else. "Injured one child and frightened the rest." Another innocent head tilt. The Soldiers glanced at each other uneasily. "Mind explaining to me the circumstances in which you did this?"  
  
It took their ahki-addled minds a moment to comprehend Cerol's question. "She bumped me," their leader said, glaring drunkenly past Cerol. "An' din't say s'rry!"  
  
"Yeah!" another agreed.  
  
The good eye narrowed a small fraction. "She is in too much pain to apologize now..." he replied calmly, tone somehow implying their fault further. "But I believe, that if you do not return to your barracks immediately, both your CO and these Students behind me will have harsh words and painful blasts to administer on you." Cerol turned back to the group, walking calmly and proudly, ignoring the Soldiers' dumbfounded noises...  
  
...then ducked to the side before Min could cry out, "Cerol! Watch it!" Min's voice and the click of blaster safeties behind and in front of him.  
  
Cerol bounced off the building next to him with his robotic legs to launch his slight body onto the leader's. Both Irkens fell to the pavement, one with gloved fingers digging into his neck. Cerol knelt on top of the lead Soldier, tightening his grip on the green throat. Manic rage gleamed in the dark blue eye. "Get off this street. Get off it as fast as your inferior legs can carry you. Otherwise I swear to the Mother of Irk, I will snap your skinny neck in two pieces..." Cerol snarled, his placidity gone. "I doubt you want to try your luck a second time..." With that, he released the unfortunate and backed off him, his own blaster emerging. "Go!"  
  
The Soldiers fled the scene quickly, never even glancing back. Cerol knelt back to the empty pavement, catching his breath and attempting to do the same to his escaped sanity. Behind him, Min collected Pira, running with Lidge to the nearest voot runner. He stayed where he was, trembling, not noticing the bewildered stares of passing Irkens around him. This kept happening. These... flashes of things he knew were going to happen, these sudden spurts of emotions he knew were not his own. Always, it took him a while to remind himself that the emotion he'd felt wasn't his, and push it away to return to normal.   
It was a long time before he was able to get to his feet and dart off in search of the two he'd aided.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Her little hand was limp in his. He rubbed his fingers over the back of it often, reminding himself that he had not gone back in time, that everything would eventually be all right. That it was not like Wikki's death. Pira was only sleeping, exhausted from the repair work done on her hip and the pain of the wound. Machines kept her pulse safely steady and monitored. Others dripped fluids into her that would aid in her return to good health. She had been taken to the Upriser's medical center at Lidge's insistence that blaster wounds would only arouse suspicion at any other. The med workers here, with their limited technology, hadn't been able to repair the damage completely, thus condemning his little student to walking with a limp the rest of her life.   
  
Min hated this place. It was a constant reminder to him of all of those whom Lidge's idiotic war had injured. Kaml... Pira... so many injuries. In two days, no less! To Pira's left, lay Kaml, now awake, and watching Min, propped up against the headboard of his bed. According to the med workers, he was progressing wonderfully, and would heal in a matter of weeks. The orange eyes were pained from the sight before him, tired from the hurt of his own healing. He was pale, looked terrible, but was alive. That was all Min asked for right now. "You sure you're gonna be all right...?" Kaml asked, his voice rough and weak. "She's gonna be fine... you know that..."  
  
He nodded. "It hurts so much..." he murmured, stroking Pira's cheek with a gentle finger. Her antennae flicked a little in her sleep. "I tried so hard Kam. So hard to keep her safe and not... not let her lose me. Always be there for her. Never let her get hurt... in anyway... To be better than..."  
  
"Than Dai was to you..."  
  
Gray eyes looked up to orange ones sharply. "How did you know?"  
  
Kaml sighed shakily, his eyes closing with a sudden weariness. "I can just tell... you know?" he croaked. "You were so upset... ten years ago... I just knew... that you would never want to... to be like someone who hurt you... like that..."  
  
"I am like him though, Kam..." Min mumbled in regret, tightening his hold on his student's hand. "I let her get hurt. I let her almost die!" A tear was impatiently brushed away. "Well... no more. Blast it, I'm sick of this... and it hasn't even been happening a week! I'm sick of this!"  
  
"Sick of what...?" Kaml blinked, trying to wake from his sleepy daze long enough to continue the conversation.  
  
"This war! I'm sick of Lidge's idiotic ideals! I'm sick of everyone I love being hurt! I hate fighting... I hate it..." He stroked Pira's antennae, trying to bring some comfort to them both. "Soon as I see Lidge next, I'm telling her Kam... I'm telling her that I don't want any part in this any more." 


	7. In Life There Are Many Quoitients, I Hop...

If you haven't guessed by now, the chapter titles are all lyrics to Creed's song "Freedom Fighter". So... I don't own them! ^.^  
  
  
  
  
VII  
In Life There Are Many Quotients, I Hope We Find The Mean  
  
The tap of two pairs of boots was the only sound audible in the huge University library. It was the only place the two could safely discuss the matters at hand and not have their involvement discovered. Neither one of them wanted to be here really. There was a sort of hatred between the two of them. It wasn't shown, but it was keenly felt in the tension in the air. One strode through the halls with an accustomed and natural grace, her long cape gliding a few inches off the floor in her wake. The other with more authority in her walk, her antennae perked up and her back perfectly straight.   
  
"Well?"  
  
"I said I'd tell you in due time! You young ones are so impatient..."  
  
"Feh. You're hardly older than I am. And I'm taller."  
  
Swar flicked her antennae. "In this University, I am second to the boss. You, my dear Lidge, I doubt have ever set foot inside a library. If you continue to berate me so, I will leave you to wander these halls alone until you find someone willing to help you," she said. In their library, their domain, a scholar was filled with confidence. It was almost as if the towering shelves and countless texts brought gave them a great sense of security. The meekest of all scholars, when placed in their library, could become the bravest of all Irkens.   
  
"Hmpf. Fine..." Magenta eyes studied the vast room. "I see though, that you scholars are not choosey in who you allow access to these books."  
  
"What?"  
  
A black-gloved hand simply pointed across the room to one of the many tables scattered at intervals throughout the library. Even from this distance, it was easy to see the red uniform, graced with three horizontal black stripes. Both pairs of eyes narrowed. This Soldier was hunched over something intently, his antennae flattened to prevent small noises from distracting him. A Soldier...? In a library...? Could Soldiers even read...?   
  
Swar swallowed the disgust rising in her, striding over to where he sat, Lidge not far behind. As they got closer, the Soldier got smaller. Smaller and smaller until he was barely three feet tall... if even that! The book he hunched over was one of the oldest texts that the library kept on the uppermost shelves. How this midget had gotten his Soldier claws on it was another mystery to Swar Aman. She quietly slid up next to him, peering over his shoulder at the book-actual book-he was engrossed in.   
  
" 'The Mother Of Irk: The true story behind the goddess'," she announced, reading the title in a voice loud enough for only the three of them to hear. "Interesting choice for one of the Soldier Class. Normally, the books you read, if any, are the gory ones. Those are on the bottom shelves." Her tone only betrayed a slight, mystified disgust with this short Soldier.   
  
He jumped, slamming the book and standing rigidly to attention before her. "Sorry Ma'am!" he rapped out with a smart salute. "Since the death of my CO, Rikea, in the battles against the Upriser traitors, my squad has had leave until there is a replacement!"   
  
"Who are you, Soldier?" Lidge barked, folding her arms defensively. Her antennae flicked back.  
  
"Soldier Zim, ma'am!" Another salute. "Apologies if I am disrupting any of your conversations, Miss Aman and companion!"  
  
It shouldn't have bothered Lidge that this Zim knew Swar on sight and had no idea who she was, it meant she and her Unit were safe. But it bothered her. Just because Swar's student had suddenly had a freakish growth spurt, she was suddenly one of the most recognized faces on Irk. Jendai had grown like that too, and he'd been banished, not celebrated. She growled softly, adjusting her stance. Zim's antennae were flat against his head, respectfully. "Who let you in?" Swar asked, breaking into Lidge's thoughts.  
  
"More importantly," the mechanic piped up. "why are you in a University instead of a Soldier tavern drinking up what wages you get?"  
  
"Lidge!"  
  
"What? It's an honest question. Don't you snap at me Swar..."  
  
Zim's eyes darted from female to female, unsure of what he was supposed to say. When they both looked at him, demanding an answer, he finally spoke up. "I'm avoiding my squad members, Miss Lidge," he said, inclining his head towards her slightly. "They are not the most choice Irkens to be around, to put it mildly. And, to be honest, those taverns are not as welcome to shorter personnel as they are to tallers."  
  
"Not good enough. Why didn't you just go back to your barracks instead? Should I call the general responsible for your barracks?" Lidge snapped, her magenta eyes hard.   
  
"No ma'am!" Zim snapped to attention again. "That's unnecessary. The barracks are being cleaned at the moment... so... I..." He fidgeted uncomfortably. "came here..."  
  
Lidge opened her mouth to berate him some more, but a look from Swar quieted her. She felt sorry for him. He was so respectful... in an age where Soldier usually put themselves above Students even taller than they were. Such a thing was rare. Such a thing was almost singularly found in Rael. The older female knelt to Zim's height, staring him in the eyes. She'd seen the same signs of the same treatment so many years ago. The same signs in Kasden. Zim looked away quickly. Yes... Swar's guess was right. What was it like to be so small...? Swar would never know. She, quite honestly, didn't want to know. "Your reasons for being here don't need to be made public, Soldier," she said gently. "All I am going to ask is that you are more careful with that book than with anything else you have ever had in your possession. Understand?"  
  
Red eyes widened at this sudden change. The small Soldier gave a hasty nod and salute as Swar rose, taking Lidge by the arm. "Thank you, Miss Swar..." She nodded, leading the stunned Lidge deeper into the library.  
  
When they were far enough away, Lidge pulled her arm away from the other female, indignant. "What was that!?" she snapped. "You! Swar Aman! Kind to a Soldier?"  
  
Swar had to take a deep breath at Lidge's tone. "Lidge Tikem... you're disgracing your name acting like that!" She faced the Boss, fragile hands on slender hips. "I cannot believe you didn't see it, when your own 'great cause' is dedicated to eradicating that sort of thing!"   
  
"What do you mean...?"   
  
An exasperated sigh from the scholar. "You saw how short he was. You saw how he flinched every time you raised your voice. You heard what he said about how the Soldier bar goers treat shorties. You were there, blast it!" Swar took a deep breath. "Can't you put it together?"  
  
It clicked. Lidge slowly nodded. "But still..."  
  
"No buts, Lidge. All right?" Swar pulled a chair out from a nearby table, motioning Lidge to sit as well. "We have a lot to discuss. Sit. Let's see if we can't get some details cleared up." Finely boned hands were spread, fingers outstretched. "Shoot."  
  
"Tell me everything the Tallest have decided on so far!" Lidge had to quiet her voice mid-sentence. No one could hear them here, as the high shelves muffled speech with their numerous volumes. Still, it paid to be cautious.   
  
Swar sighed. The younger female's impatience was almost intolerable. Though the few weeks of battle had toned her somewhat, both physically and mentally, Lidge would never be one who could sit through a long speech or anything that required being patient for extensive periods. She always would have to be doing something. "Nothing," the scholar announced with another sigh. "They have decided on nothing."  
  
"WHAT!?" The single word seemed to fling Lidge into a standing position, her antennae flicking in angrily. Her heavy fists banged against the table, their solidity in stark contrast with Swar's frail-looking hands. "How can they have decided nothing! It's been three weeks since we made our demands known! Three weeks and twice that many battles-two thirds of which WE have won! Three weeks since Students first proved themselves on the battlefield! How can they have decided on nothing!?"  
  
It was Swar who rose next, completely calm against Lidge's rage. "You forget that the Tallest have other matters that are just as important to them as settling the Uprisings is. Things such as the launch of Impending Doom." Light blue eyes regarded the synthetic wood of the tabletop. Trees were too rare on Irk to use for such things as library furniture. They were too rare to do any more than protect. Swar doubted she'd ever see one in her lifetime. "The Uprisings are more heavily on Tallest Purple's mind than Tallest Red's, Lidge. Each of them is just as important as the other." She met the hot magenta gaze and looked back down.  
  
Lidge paced now, boots clicking against the tiled floor. "Blast it! We're being wounded, we're dying, we're even winning out there and those two idiots only care about their blasted Impending Doom scheme and their slarking Empire!" There was enough venom in her voice to wipe out half of said Empire.  
  
"Don't you dare say that about Kasden..." Swar hissed, rising herself. "I didn't raise my Kasden to be an idiot. I raised him to be a Student and to be loyal to his Class. If you want to insult someone, Lidge Tikem, because you're frustrated and can't get what you want, insult RED, you smeet! Irk knows how he was raised. But my Kasden Aman..." Scholar fingers clenched. "This meeting is over, Lidge. Get out of my library before I throw you out."  
  
The mechanic stood. She could have easily beaten Swar in a fight, easily broken her fragile bones. She didn't. She just turned on a heel and stalked off in the opposite direction. Watching her go, Swar started shaking. The scholar shook so badly she all but fell into her chair. She needed amrinae, iaka, anything warm or soothing. Anything to calm her... anything at all. Nothing was going to come though. There wasn't anything in this building that could calm her. Everything was so different now...  
  
Swar lay her head on the table and shook, her tremors giving way to soft, muffled sobs.  
~~~~   
  
The somewhat cheerful smell of take-out food had done something Kaml never thought any smell could. It had overpowered the too-clean smell of the med center room. Not to mention it tasted better than anything he'd ever eaten. Although that was probably due to the fact that he hadn't eaten much of anything the last few weeks, other than the rations the med center handed out every day. Even Soldier food might have tasted good to him right then. "Min, when I get out of here, you're giving me this place's address," he announced, slurping some soup. It had the spicy tang of the north side of the city. "If you don't, Lidge is going to find she has to cook every night."  
  
Min looked up from situating Pira with her dinner. Her large turquoise eyes were brimming with happiness at her teacher's visit. The young female's hip injury was healing slowly, but there were no problems, which made for a smooth recovery. Her teacher sat on the edge of her bed, digging her favorite foods out of the large bag in front of him, passing a few more items to Kaml and setting even fewer aside for himself. Recently, Min hadn't been eating much, claiming he wasn't hungry. So much like his teacher... For all his struggles to be different, Min had absorbed more than anyone had thought of Jendai. His habits... his work... even parts of his personality.   
  
Kaml shook his head and went back to his bowl. The noodles were still hot, spicy and exactly what the orange-eye loved. He glanced over at Pira. She was carefully devouring a few pastries with varied fillings inside. There were small flecks of each smeared around her mouth. Min watched her too, absently munching some nachos, a soft smile on his face. Every so often, he'd point to his own face, to show his student where the worst concentrations of food were, and little Pira would hastily wipe her mouth. Kaml had to smile. It had been a while since he'd seen the child happy. She usually spent most of her days in the med center hunched over her datapads, sketching whatever came to mind. Her talent amazed the mechanic to no end.  
  
"It's a little place on a corner... I forget the street names," Min answered finally. "Pretty good, isn't it? Cerol mentioned it once or twice." The gray-eye paused to swallow a cheese-covered chip. "I think he had a thing for the owner's student for a while... until both of them went on their own." A casual shrug of thin shoulders. "Never asked him about it though."  
  
"Cerol... that's a face I haven't seen in ages..." muttered Kaml. "He's come in a couple of times... always seems so withdrawn though. Like he's hurting."  
  
Gray eyes blinked, thinking this information over. "Have you noticed how he's always just... I don't know... there... when thing[s] happen?" Min waved off his surrogate teacher's puzzled look. "I mean... when Pira... yeah, he was the first to know. He actually came and told me... Hey, knock it off Pintsize." The last said with a smile at a reassuring nudge from the child's toe.   
  
The orange-eye set his empty bowl aside, reclining against his pillow. He missed Shil... actually, he felt she should be involved in this conversation. It felt wrong to talk about Cerol like this without his old teacher here to either back him up or agree. "It's probably just something to do with that eye of his, or maybe someone said something to him before he came to you," he said at last.   
  
"True... anyway, I should probably get home..." Min mumbled, rising.   
  
"Teacher Kaalae..."   
  
He turned. "Yeah, Pintsize?"   
  
"Could you stay the night...? Or do you have to work tomorrow...?"  
  
Min smiled widely, kneeling down next to Pira. "Tomorrow's my day off. So, sure. I'll stay with you. Why? Scared of Kaml?"  
  
She giggled. It was a bright sound. "Nah, I just miss you." Pira found herself embraced in gray-clad arms. She returned the hug, smiling all the while.   
  
"I'll be back soon, Pira, I just have to check with the head worker here," he muttered into the top of her head. "Make sure they don't mind my being here tonight. Okay? I'll come right back." Min gave his student's fingers a soft squeeze. "Be back soon, both of you." He turned to leave then.  
  
"Hey, Min."  
  
Gray eyes turned to face orange pools.   
  
"Watch out, Pira says I snore louder than a broken voot cruiser."  
  
"You do! Teacher Kaalae! Bring a recorder chip! Then you can show him!"  
  
Min left, laughter in his throat. Things were almost normal in that room, despite the décor, monitors and too-sanitary smell. You couldn't feel the fear, the tension, of the streets there. There were no broadcast screens or holo sets to tell one what was happening on [in] the outside world. You could almost forget your troubles in there, almost lose yourself in Pira's innocence or Kaml's good humor. You could almost forget the battles, the screams of pain, the blindness of the smoke from blaster fire, the stale, metallic scent of fresh blood. You could almost forget who you were in there... Almost forget you were a Kaalae... obligated to be reliable, to be the one Irkens looked up to for guidance, bound to duty...  
  
Almost.  
  
The minute one stepped back into the chill of the main hallway, reality came back with the dull sting of cold. Min almost wished he had a cape like Swar Aman. That way, he could wrap up in it and keep his body from shivering too much. He could probably hide in it as well. It smelled worse in the hallway. Too clean. Too clean, even by his Irken standards of cleanliness. Med workers hustled by him, jarring him sideways at times, nodding heads at him, helped patients along, mainly just doing their jobs, even at this time of night.   
  
He tried to stay out of their way. He kept his head down, trying to avoid eye contact with the patients. Their pain bothered him. The feeling that he was responsible for their suffering, no matter how slight, haunted him, often leaving him awake long into the night. Another reason he hoped no one would mind his presence in Pira and Kaml's room. His student was soothing to his nerves, as was his old surrogate teacher. He loved them so dearly... if anything worse should happen to them because of this stupid war...  
  
Right. He had to tell Lidge. Tell her that he was through. That she could do what she liked to him as long as he wouldn't fight again. No more battles.   
  
The memories surrounded him at the mere thought of fighting. He was back on the walkway, the first battle. Back slipping in the rose blood, back choking on smoke, fighting nausea as well as Soldiers. The crack of blaster fire all around. Bodies, both wrestling and lying on the walkway, were packed so tightly around him, Min could barely breathe. He clutched his chest, stumbling against a parked black voot. His breath came in harsh, quick gasps that had to fight to get out of his throat. Noise, screams of pain, blaster cracks, voot engines, war cries, it all drowned out any sanity he had left. The smoke was so thick it burned his eyes. He had to get up, had to keep fighting, had to do something. The Soldiers closed in. They didn't care that he didn't want to be here, they didn't care that he was half-dead from the smoke and noise alone. All they wanted was to kill him, to separate him from all he loved and cared about. That was all they wanted. Min grabbed his head and screamed.  
  
"Sir!? Sir!? Are you all right!?"  
  
Min whirled, expecting the battle scene to remain and a Soldier facing him, blaster drawn. Instead, it was only a young med worker, her pink eyes wide and frightened. She gaped for a moment at his face, then calmed herself. Min could only nod at her, hoping that would be enough to shoo her away. It was. She made a quick bow before she hurried away in a small blur of white and pink. He stood against the wall that had been a voot only moments before, still gasping for breath. It hurt, almost, breathing.   
  
He finally recovered. The memories just plain refused to go away. They would constantly engulf him, swallow him down into that well of panic, fear, and death, that always seemed so real. He was sweating. What on Irk was wrong with him? Was he sick? The worries kept running through his mind as he made his way to the head med worker's station. Maybe this place could help him... Hah. That was a laugh. After how much they'd "helped" poor Pira, he doubted they could even begin to diagnose him.   
  
"Min!"   
  
"Lidge...?" he turned at the familiar voice. His eyes picked out the black on magenta blur and winced. He hadn't expected to see her this soon. She was running to get to him before the elevator doors shut. Min wasn't aware he'd even entered an elevator. "What... what are you doing here?"  
  
She slipped through closing doors into the elevator, coming to stand beside him. Min hadn't punched in the floor number yet, causing them to remain stationary for a time. "I came to see how you were," replied Lidge, her teeth showing in a soft, almost gentle smile. "Regert said you'd gone to see Kam and Pira, so I checked with them. They said I'd find you here."  
  
"I need to talk to you." This mumbled more to the floor than to the female only inches away. "About the Uprisings. About everything..."  
  
"Min... Min what's wrong? You sound awful!" Now there was concern and fear in her voice. Although, he knew the fear was not for him, but for her cause. That stung. He should have known better though. His hands clenched. Suddenly, he wished for Jendai... wished for his insight, his subtle power, just plain wished he'd never lost that teacher. Something he'd never wished before. Perhaps if he hadn't lost Jendai, he'd be able to stand strong in front of Lidge, come clean and tell her what she had to hear, what she avoided hearing.   
  
"I'm finished Lidge. Finished with it all. I'm not fighting anymore. Not after two of the Irkens I love have... have been injured terribly in this. I'm sick of it..." he choked, gasping the tears back as he fought down the memories once more. "I'm so slarking sick of it that I'm going insane... I can't... I can't do it anymore... oh Irk!" Min fell to his knees, the terror of this conversation, the trauma of the past few minutes, overwhelming him in that instant. He was physically ill in the corner of the elevator, despite Lidge's surprising support, her hands grasping his shoulders protectively.   
  
When there was nothing left in him, she pulled him into a sitting position, actually hugging him close to her, like she did before he grew up. "Why didn't you tell me sooner, Min?" Lidge murmured, actually rocking him. "Why did you have to do this to yourself? You're pale, you're sick... Min, you're almost wasted to nothing... Mother of Irk..."  
  
This surprised him. He'd expected her to react violently, scream at him, do something rash. But she merely held him... just as she had during Wikki's burial so long ago. He hadn't expected this. "Do what you want to me..." Min mumbled into her shoulder. His body shook with a sudden weakness. "Just don't make me fight anymore..."  
  
"Shhh... I won't... you'll be safe. Rest now, okay? You don't have to fight any longer. I promise you." She looked about to say more, but was stopped by her communicator. "Lidge here..."   
  
Shil's voice was frantic on the other end. "Lidge! Oh Irk, get over here, please! Cerol... Cerol's having some sort of seizure or something! He came over for a visit and he... Irk! Lidge please come! He keeps saying your name... I don't know what to do!"  
  
"I'm coming. Put him in bed or something Shil. I'm coming." Without asking, she punched in the button for the roof parking, dragging Min along with her, heedless of his original mission.  
  
He didn't try to stop her.  
  
~~~~   
  
Dark green sheets were damp with Cerol's sweat, twisted and mangled into strange shapes on the bed. Cerol himself was sprawled out, his scrawny frame limp in the sea of fabric. He was flushed with what seemed to be fever, but there was no other evidence to suggest that. A cool cloth was on his head, his teacher hovering near him. Lidge, Min leaning heavily on her, was standing on the other side of the bed. All eyes were trained to the now-calm Cerol Haye.  
  
"He went unconscious just before you walked in," Shil sighed, drumming her thick fingers against her lower lip. "Mother of... I'm worried... He was saying all sorts of things... they didn't make any sense at all..."  
  
Lidge peered closer to Cerol's flushed, damp face. His antennae were plastered to his head. He looked ill. "Did you take him to a med center...?"  
  
At her voice, Cerol stirred, his eyelids fluttering. The blind eye slid open, gazing sightlessly around the room in quick, almost panicked flicks of motion. His lips moved, though there was no sound emanating from his throat. Shil took in a frightened breath. Her student's limbs thrashed briefly before he calmed, resuming the eye and lip movement, neither speaking, nor seeing. Lidge's hands tightened on Min as she watched, fear contracting into a thick knot in her chest. The male she held merely stared silently downwards.  
  
"Lidge..."  
  
They all jumped. Cerol's voice, though soft, was almost ethereal in its tone. He couldn't see them with his good eye, so the blind pool glared right through them instead. Lidge felt her pulse quicken.   
  
"Lidge... has to stop... if not... uthane... ahki... hundreds dead... so much destruction... all for the cause...? No... no nonono! Lidge... Lidge has to stop! No one else... they all helpless... even Tallests... Impending Doom... two days... they can't help... not until after Impending Doom... two days... then uthane and ahki mix... hundreds die... unless..." Cerol trailed off, falling still and silent again. A few moments of stunned quiet passed. Without warning, the seemingly delirious Irken sat bolt upright, his face contorted in a horror no one with two good eyes could see. "LIDGE HAS TO STOP!" he screamed, gloved hands clutching the sheets so tightly holes appeared. Both eyes were wide open now and terror radiated from them. Terror so great that it could not be Cerol's alone. Terror like this could only come from hundreds upon thousands of living, fearing beings. "SHE HAS TO END THIS! SHE HAS TO! Oh... oh MOTHER SAVE US!"   
  
His body went limp then, collapsing back against the bed, chest heaving for air. One last spasm passed before Cerol quieted fully, his breath now coming soft and easy, his eyes shutting calmly into sleep.   
  
Lidge Tikem was white. Her skin no longer held any trace of color in it. She trembled slightly, working hard to contain the small tremors. Min gripped her tight. He thought she needed him as he had needed her earlier. He was wrong. After a moment, she pushed him away, rigid. Her hands clenched. "No," was all she said. It was all she needed to say.  
  
"Lidge! You can't! You heard what he said!"  
  
"You believe him, Min? Blast it, Cerol's lost his mind!" The venom was back in her voice. It had never been used on Min before... "You want me to call off the Uprisings, WHILE WE'RE WINNING, because of an insane Irken's delirious ramblings!?"  
  
Min Kaalae drew himself up, shoulders back, a strength of voice filling him that he had never known he possessed. He was a Kaalae, and it was past time he acted as one. His beliefs could no longer be directed by those who were taller. He could believe what he wanted, blast it. "Yes, Lidge, I do. You should listen to him. I don't know why, but you have to! You heard what he said. You heard him, listen to him!"  
  
She shook, now with rage. Gone was that caring façade from the elevator, evaporated with angry heat. She may have released him from her madness, but others would not escape so easily unscathed. "You're shorter than me, how DARE you order me around!" Lidge shouted. "You cannot tell me what to do!" Her stare filled him with fear. "The Uprisings will continue. They will continue until we get what we want. Regardless of the ramblings of delirious crazies."   
  
Both Shil and Min watched her go with little idea how they were to stop her, and little idea of what they were stopping her from. 


	8. Can't You See What's Coming?

VIII  
Can't You See What's Coming?  
  
  
"Uthane... what on Irk is uthane? I... uthane..."   
  
Shil paused in her pacing only to press a hot cup of iaka into Min's cold hands. The gray-eyed mechanic was bundled in a blanket on Shil's shabby couch, trying to both warm himself from a sudden chill and calm the fear in his chest. Lidge had stormed out half an hour ago, her face stormy. Unfortunately, her departure left Min without a ride back to the med center. Without a way back to Pira. Shil had offered to take him, but they both needed to relax and think things through before rushing off anywhere in a voot runner.   
  
"I've heard that name before, Mother knows I have... but... Irk, what is it?"   
  
Min shook his head. "I don't know..." He was surprised at how scratchy his voice was. " 'Uthane and ahki mix'... Maybe it's a drink..."  
  
Now Shil shivered. Why was it so cold in her apartment. "It's not a drink, Min. I, of all Irkens, should know. Slarking..." Another sigh. "Blast it, I wish we could just ask Cerol..."  
  
"Best not to disturb him any more."  
  
"I know, I know..."  
  
Gloved hands fiddled with the cup as gray eyes were reflected in the dark liquid. The eyes were sorrowful, tired, and too old for the face they were set in. He'd seen eyes like that once... blue eyes... Min took an angry gulp, shattering his reflection for the time being. "Shil, maybe it's something like a drug... you don't mix anything in ahki other than yisok or vinel... Unless it's..."  
  
"Something that's not supposed to be there." Dark green eyes regarded him over the rim of a glass, this one containing the aforementioned, yisok-ahki mix. "Call Jishet."  
  
Min nodded, getting to his feet, legs trembling a bit under him as he made his way over to Shil's communicator. It hummed idly, screen a dull purple color. A few taps of the keys activated it instantly and in moments, he was speaking with Jishet Olon. "Evening, Jishet here. Lucky you caught me leaving work. Who'm I-Min Kaalae? That you?" Pale purple eyes peered at him, thin eyelashes fluttering slightly. "Heh. Course it is. How many Irkens've got gray eyes like those?"  
  
Jishet's name "Olon" was what was known as a dead name. A dead name was a name whose final bearer died or was banished without ever having passed it onto a student. In this case, Leeri Olon had been executed for treason, and thus her name had died with her. Jishet, upon hearing about this, had changed her last name after giving her original name to her student. She had applied for a second student, in hopes that the Olon name would not die. No one was sure of Jishet's reason for this, as the heavyset female kept it to herself. Like Leeri, she was a chemical researcher and analyst, and perhaps she had known the late Leeri Olon during her life. Min had acquired her frequency while cleaning out Jendai's old desk when he inherited the apartment. Apparently, his banished teacher had bought cleansing oils and things of the sort from Jishet for his inventions.   
  
"Not many," Min acknowledged with a smile. Jishet had a strange drawl that could make you grin despite yourself. "I won't keep you, Jishet, but, I had a question. We..." He gestured to Shil behind him. "thought you might know about."  
  
"Well, I'm off now, so, feel free ta fire 'way!"  
  
"Have..." Now he fidgeted, a bit afraid of the answer. "Have you ever heard of something called uthane...?"  
  
"Uthane? Oh! Uthane!" She pronounced it, "oo-than-ee". After a pause for thought, Jishet continued. "Low-class drug... we don't make it here. I think you can get it in the Soldier areas for pretty cheap. We've done research on it though..."  
  
Min felt cold. A blanket was draped over his shoulders and he was forced into a chair. Shil's work, no doubt. He didn't know he'd been shaking. Jishet's eyes were concerned, lilac slits. "What... what does it do?" He had a bad feeling, no, an awful feeling now. "What are the effects...?"  
  
Another pause, this for a quick tap of buttons on a small palmtop. "Ehhh... let's see... it's a hallucinogen." She was reading now. "Takes at least twelve to fifteen hours for the effects to start. Gives users extreme euphoria, delusions of grandeur... blah blah blah... the user can loose sense of where they are, what they're doing... and some, if enough is taken, go on small destructive sprees until the effects wear off. Personality remains the same, even if judgment sense is non-existent." Pale eyes, now wide, scanned the writing faster now, as if their owner sensed Min's panic. "Can be injected, inhaled, or ingested orally. Sometimes mixed with a drink to mask its bitter taste."  
  
That was all the two listeners had to hear. After a brief, and sincere thank you to Jishet for her time, Shil disconnected the transmission with violently trembling hands. She grabbed Min's shoulders to steady herself, trying to sort out what they had just learned and what Cerol had shrieked only a half hour ago. Min gripped her hands tight, just trying to find something solid in his world. "Those effects..." he muttered, mostly to the blank screen. "Shil... combine that with... with what Cerol said... what Jishet told us... and where it's found... oh Irk, Shil!"  
  
"An... you don't think... Min, tell me you don't think the ahki Cerol was talking about is..."  
  
"It's the only way. There's no other way Cerol could be right unless..."  
  
"Maybe Lidge is right! Maybe it was just babble!"  
  
"Shil..."  
  
"I know, I know. I'm his teacher. If I don't believe what he says, who will? Still... I... I can't believe this is real. It can't be! That ahki can't be..."  
  
"An Invader's...?"   
  
~~~~  
  
"WELCOME! INVADERS!"  
  
That was the sign over the Soldier tavern in the south part of the city. Tomorrow was the launch date of Impending Doom. Tomorrow was the Great Assigning, the day these proud few Irkens would have their day of glory. They would always be remembered for that day and for their deeds after that day.   
  
Too bad most of them would have such terrible hangovers.   
  
Already, med workers were dragging those who were too drunk back to the med centers or barracks depending on the level of intoxication. They looked disgusted at having to do such a job, but were probably just disgusted with the fact that they were actually touching drunken Soldiers. Invaders were, according to the announcements broadcasted across the planet, the highest military rank now achievable. Why these idiotic Soldiers weren't acting like it was beyond the med workers.  
  
Some were up on the tables, ranting at the ceiling or dancing, still celebrating their triumph. Their fellows tried to yank them off, only succeeding in being pulled up themselves. Others were bragging about their conquering abilities. A few were drinking up their bonuses, laughing at jokes no one else could hear. Still fewer sat quietly, staring around at the idiocy around them, sipping barely enough ahki to even seem to be celebrating anything.   
  
It was one of these sober Invaders that Sen sought.   
  
He'd obtained the small purple vial from a street seller. It wasn't hard to find one. They seemed to be everywhere these days. It had also been relatively cheap... for him anyway. Such a large amount would cost a normal buyer a week to procure. Concealed in his glove, no one would ever suspect an Imperial Guard of anything of this magnitude. The victim he'd chosen should get off easy, more or less, because of his height. No one ever punished the short ones too hard. They couldn't be expected to be at the same level as the taller ones. Therefore, their punishments were less severe. It was the only perk of being short.  
  
Punishments. Sen was no stranger to punishment. Ten years in the Tallests' personal prison had shown him punishment to a high degree. Tallest Red saw to the discomfort of his prisoners, even when Tallest Purple frowned on it. The Soldier Tallest had spared no expense in showing Sen his displeasure in what the guard had done. Such a show of anti-Classisim was a bit startling, considering which Class Red belonged to. Sen blamed Purple's influence. Red was becoming too weak in Soldier ways, letting that tall Student take over the decision-making.   
  
Teaching Red a lesson in Soldier ways was part of the reason he was here now. The other main reason was to keep those slarking Students in their place. Their female smeet of a leader showed no signs of stopping her attacks. A Soldier had to be found to straighten her out. Though, Sen hated having to use a fellow Soldier. Especially one who had earned the rank of Invader. Although, rumor had it that this one was only made an Invader due to that blasted Rael's meddling in the Tallests' decision. Poor wretch. He hoped this one dose wouldn't be enough to make an addict out of the little squirt. Then again...   
  
Anything for the sake of his mission. If one sacrifice could make or break a mission, a Soldier must make the sacrifice. This Soldier would be that sacrifice.  
  
Casually, he sauntered up to the bar, ignoring the lesser Irkens around him. He's planned this all out on the short march over here. No Irken would refuse a congratulation drink from a taller Irken. No one would question its origin or motives either. It was the perfect plan. A service robot popped up before him as he leaned against the stained plastic of the bar. "Two ahki," he said smoothly, nodding to the bot. A glance over his shoulder showed the little Invader to still be alone, although several celebrators blocked his view. The drinks came promptly, as expected. No one saw the slight flick of a Soldier wrist as the purple contents of the vial dripped into one of the ahki glasses. If they did, they wouldn't notice anything odd about it. There were stranger motions going on in this bar than that.   
  
Everything was going well. Sen smirked behind the mask as he collected the two drinks. So smoothly. Invaders parted for him, most staggering. He made his way over to the little Invader's table with the smirk still hidden behind the red mask. Within ten feet of the table, he froze, a knot forming in his chest.  
  
The small Invader was still at his table, finishing off what looked to be his first glass of ahki. That was normal. Beside him, to his right, sat someone who had not been there when Sen had first stepped into the bar. How he'd gotten there, Sen didn't know. He'd seen no one enter since he had. Dark red eyes bored into Sen, their owner's fingers curled delicately around a stemmed glass of amrinae. A cloak the same color as the eyes spilled across the seat, its hem barely above the crowded floor. There were faint, robotic movements under the table; flashes of a grinning mouth or slanted eyes.   
  
Rael.  
  
Blast him. Blast him to Blorch!   
  
Sen tried to keep his antennae perked casually, his stride an even march, and everything else about him completely normal. Any flicker of any emotion other than confidence would be picked up by the careful gaze of Rael. He kept moving forward, not diverting an inch from his previous course. That too would alert Rael. Neither one at the table seemed to even notice his arrival. They seemed to be too engrossed in watching the celebrations with disdain to see anything else, and thus they started a bit when Sen set the tainted drink before the Invader. "Greetings, Invader. Care to share a drink in commemoration of your new rank?"   
  
The Invader stared. "Ye... yes of course! Thank you, sir!" His gloved hands tightened around the glass in front of him. "This is a most unexpected honor."  
  
"Honor? It's only a drink, Zim..." Dark eyes narrowed. "Don't make it out to be more than that." Now Rael regarded Sen. "Hmm... Never expected to see you again, Guard Sen. I had thought the Tallest locked you away for good."  
  
"Not likely," Sen laughed. He kept his mirth dry. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the small Invader take a small sip of the ahki. Good. Nothing was suspected by the victim. "I suppose they realized how valuable my guarding is. About time, I say."  
  
Rael glanced at the drink suspiciously. It was a long moment before Sen could breathe again. "You are too full of yourself, Sen. Stop admiring yourself so much, the mirror is getting bored of your reflection..." A casual drink of amrinae. The face masks of Soldiers like Sen and Rael were made with a small opening in the mouth area for such times as when one needed to eat or drink in public. It opened when a sensor indicated food or drink near it.   
  
Both stared, trying to comprehend the meaning behind what Rael had said. "Thank you for the drink, Guard Sen," the Invader said quietly, taking another small drink. "I do not deserve-"  
  
"Blast it, Zim! Stop that! You deserve your new rank, you deserve your assignment, and you deserve a drink from a mere Guard!" Rael shot the Invader an annoyed look, his antennae flicking in. "Shortness is vastly underrated. I'm short. Look at me. I'm Rael."  
  
Zim nodded. "Yes sir, I see that I am worthy... I understand."  
  
"No you don't. For the Tallest to have named someone as short as you as an Invader, you have to be more than worthy. You have to be amazing." Dark eyes closed in a knowing expression. "Therefore, you, Zim, are amazing. As a Soldier, anyway." Now Rael took a longer drink, as if trying to clear his mind for his next revelation.   
  
"Yes Sir!" Zim jumped to his feet on the bench, somehow empowered by Rael's short pep-talk. "I will be an amazing Invader! I will be so very amazing! I will conquer two-no, four planets in the name of the Empire!" A small gloved fist shook menacingly in the air as laughter rippled through the bar. "You shall see how amazing I will be! You will all know the name of Zim! You will know it and tremble at its amazingness!" At that, he sat down, gulping some more ahki and fuming.   
  
Sen had to choke back a laugh. This little one had spunk, that was certain. Shame it had to be wasted on his plan... Though it was somewhat obvious that little outburst had been for the disbelievers in the bar. This Invader wanted to show them all up. Sen swallowed down the last of his ahki and rose. "I wish you luck at the Assigning, Invader," he said, smirking. "I'll see you there... though I doubt you'll see me."   
  
He left then, after carefully checking to assure himself that the tainted drink would be drunk without suspicion.  
  
~~~~   
  
"Next! Invader Des!"  
  
A chorus of angered hisses rose from the group gathered in Lidge's office. All of them had met the Soldier, none of them liked him. He was the perfect Soldier, and thus all of West Jihi despised him. He also brought in more wrecked transport vehicles than any Soldier on record, most probably smashed while demonstrating his piloting skill to his drunken, Soldier friends. Not to mention he was more or less branded for life as a weakling, due to the bruise scar on his forehead; a reminder of a childhood fight he'd lost.   
  
Everyone who worked at the shop was here, watching the Great Assigning on Lidge's screen. Ahki had been passed out as a way to make the viewing more bearable rather than celebrate the Assigning. Half of those gathered were members of the Uprising. To them, the Assigning meant failure. Despite their best efforts, the Tallest still were keeping with the old ways, ignoring them and pushing Impending Doom on the entire Irken race. Sure the Soldiers would be conquering, but the Students would be doing the colonizing, the building, the planning, the repairs, almost everything else. And yet, the Soldiers were the ones glorified by this ceremony, this entire operation.   
  
"Bah... Des must have paid some higher-up his life savings to get that job," Regert mumbled, leaning against Lidge's desk. "Either that or his higher-up's a female and she actually gets things for... anything."  
  
A ripple of light laughter. There was no laughter from one corner of the room, Regert noted. He pricked his one antennae, straining to figure out who was hiding over there. There was a muted whisper in baritone followed by a quick agreement from a more feminine voice. Min... but who else? He scanned the room. Most of the females who worked at West Jihi were here, glaring at the Soldiers, except for one. Someone moved aside, showing him his guess was correct. Min and Shil stood quietly in the corner, their eyes wide as they stared at the screen with something akin to transfixed fear.   
  
"Min! Hey! Come over here! Stop hiding like a smeet!"   
  
Gray eyes grew wider, then snapped to face him abruptly. Sheepishly, Min came forward, Shil hastening to stay by his side. The sudden alliance startled Regert somewhat. As far as he knew, Shil was still firmly attached to Kaml, even during his continued stay in the med center. Perhaps Shil was only nervous due to the Assigning, and Min was merely being a comfort in his old teacher's absence. Yes, that was it. He had it. Meekly, the two approached him, their antennae down. "Yes sir?" Min asked, his voice barely a mumble.   
  
"What's the problem? Usually, you two are yelling obscenities more than anyone else when we see a broadcast," the ex-boss said. He folded his arms. "Now you're hiding in the corner like a couple of newly hatched smeets in a Nursery."  
  
Shil glanced at Min. He nodded and she spoke. "Sir... we can't discuss this here..." Her voice was quiet, fearful almost. "Lidge will hear..."  
  
A magenta eye watched them from her desk. It was narrowed with annoyance. Regert blinked. What was Lidge's problem? He frowned, taking in the nervousness of the mechanics before him. "All right, let's go to the workfloor... Lidge is busy here."  
  
"Thank you, Regert."  
  
It was deadly silent on the workfloor. Normally the noise of repairs was deafening, but today was almost a holiday due to the Great Assigning being today. No vehicles had even come in today. All of the huge doors were locked, their hydraulics frozen to prevent any from coming in. When a day off was available, mechanics took full advantage of it. It wasn't that they were lazy, merely that what they did on their working days required so much physical effort. Any day off was a welcome chance to rest sore muscles.   
  
Their boots were the only sound in the immense room, echoing from the walls and ceiling. Shil leaned against a box, half propping herself up on it with the palms of her gloved hands. She looked small in comparison to the object she rested on. Min paced slightly, unable to keep still under Regert's eye. Even his antennae seemed to fidget nervously. "All right," the ex-boss said, folding his arms smartly. "Out with it. What's up?"  
  
Min stared at him, looking betrayed. The reason for this look was lost on both Regert and Min's own cohort, Shil. He slowly recovered his calm, blushing in embarrassment. This small incident interested Regert to no end. It was a while before Min spoke. His voice was soft, almost dismal. "We... something... something terrible is going to happen..." He leaned against a rack of tools, trembling terribly, his mind lost in some distant horror he would never forget.   
  
Shil stared, not comprehending the action, then took up the story. She told her old boss everything, Cerol's sudden "illness", what he'd said to them, and Jishet's information. He didn't flinch, just stared at them, the same disbelief radiating from his red eyes as had come from Lidge's magenta all those weeks ago. When Shil had finished, they all were quiet.  
  
"I hate to say it you two, but I think Lidge was right in saying what she said to you. Even if this Jishet told you what she told you," he said evenly, not a trace of anger in his voice. His reaction was exactly the opposite of Lidge's, albeit he took her side. He looked gentle, almost sorry he had to tell them the truth.   
  
"Why would Cerol say those things in the first place if something weren't going to happen!?" Min shouted violently, kicking at a box of cables. "I don't believe even a DELIRIOUS Irken would say something like that without REASON!" When he faced them, his eyes were dark, haunted and foreign. Shil backed involuntarily into Regert who took a slight step in front of her. "I can't let anyone die like they did that day! I can't stand by and let them die! Not when there might be a chance I can do something!"  
  
At the warped look on his face, Shil fled for the relative safety of Lidge's office, too afraid of the taller Student's strange anger to stay anywhere near him. Regert stayed. He watched Min's whole body start to shake again, his gray eyes glaze over as his mind once again drifted into the bound terrors of his memories. Cautiously, Regert's gloved hand reached out to touch Min's shoulder, trying to bring him back from the brink. It was a nearly three hours before either one moved.   
  
The ex-boss wasn't sure how long it was before Min's antennae finally twitched, and his fingers grasped feebly for Regert's supporting hand. His baritone was scratchy, hoarse, as warped as his expression by what he kept reliving in his mind. "Thanks..." was all he seemed to be able to manage. His legs almost gave way. The young mechanic remained standing by both sheer will and Regert's lone hand.   
  
"Come on... let's get you something to put color back in your face... you're as pale as Shil."  
  
A few minutes later, they were seated in Min's workstation, Min sipping an akhi from the lunchroom. Regert had pulled up some empty crates as seats. No conversation passed for a while. The older Irken studied Min's posture carefully. He was slumped slightly, looking exhausted, circles showing under his sunken eyes-despite the green paint he'd applied to hide them.  
  
"How long has this been happening to you, Min...?"  
  
The gray eyes looked up sharply at the question, stunned that it had been asked. He didn't answer, so Regert continued. "Since Pira was injured? Since the Cerol incident? How long?"  
  
"Since... the... the first battle... when Kaml was shot..." As the words tumbled out, ahki was gulped down to replace the hole they'd left.   
  
Stunned silence.  
  
"Why haven't you told anyone?"  
  
"I... Regert..."  
  
"Did you honestly think that we wouldn't find out? Or that we couldn't help you? Hmpf. I should have expected that much. Kaalaes are always so proud."  
  
Min stiffened. He knew Regert meant nothing by that... but still... he should defend his Name. "We're not..." That was all his frayed senses could come up with right away. It was pathetic. Something a smeet would say, not an adult Irken. He didn't care. He felt like a smeet. All he wanted was his teacher to come and-no. His teacher wouldn't have done that even if he hadn't been banished. Min's fingers clenched around the ahki bottle.  
  
To his surprise, Regert nodded in sympathy. "Swar... I remember her saying to Kas one day... after Jendai'd had something go wrong and not told Daske about it..." Red eyes were lost in the past, soft instead of pained. " 'Those who bear the Kaalae name, are born to suffer, and do so in silence; since the first Kaalae born twins died within their mother, their cries stifled'."   
  
Another long pause.   
  
"That's... depressing."  
  
"Extremely, I know. But it's true. Has been of all the Kaalaes I've known. Elgan, Daske, Jendai... and now you. It's a name trait."   
  
The younger Irken looked away. "I don't want Pira to carry it... she shouldn't have to... I won't let her."   
  
Regert bit his lip. "I can understand that," he sighed. "I'm getting too old... seen too many of you blasted Kaalaes come through here and mess up West Jihi." There was a sly smirk on his face that softened his words immensely. "I'll try and be here long as possible for your Pira, Min. You have to give her the name someday otherwise it'll die. Jendai saved your name once... I assume he wouldn't like it if you let it die."  
  
"Regert..."  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"Your name..."  
  
The red eyes were serious. "I know I'm carrying a dying Name. My Name's had a good run... but there's nothing I can do. My Name dies with me... but... hopefully I'll out-live some around here... maybe I'll get another student in time..."  
  
Min's weary face held a look of sorrow that seemed so typical of Kaalaes these days. "Mother of Irk, Regert..." he murmured. "I hope to Her you do..."  
  
A weak laugh. "Ach, I come out here to help you and you end up helping me..." He grew more serious. "Thanks, Min. Thanks a lot."  
  
Before either of them could say another word, a scream tore through West Jihi. The two looked up, startled, as Lidge burst from the office, running straight into the railing that separated the Boss's platform from the workfloor. Her face was terribly pale, and, even from their distance, they could see her trembling. A soft, horrified voice carried down to them, barely recognizable as Lidge's once commanding tone.   
  
"Get in here, Min."  
  
He nearly ran to her. Despite the animosity between them over the past few days since the Cerol incident, Min still felt a deep loyalty towards Lidge. She'd been something of a younger mentor to him. Almost in the same sense of a sister, had Min known and understood the concept of siblinghood. Once by her side, Lidge's strong hands gripped his shoulders as if she feared he'd run away. Her face was nearly as pale as his, and her eyes were larger than a frightened smeet's.   
  
"Lidge! What... what's the matter?"   
  
She only dragged him into her office in response. Inside, the laughter had been replaced by small, almost inaudible gasps of horror. The broadcast was the only sound in the room. It was enough.  
  
"Evacuate all businesses, med centers and residences immediately! This is not a drill! Planetwide Evacuation in effect! Get off the planet now! We have a grave situation! An Invader has lost his mind, hijacked a Conqueror robot and is attacking anything in sight, moving currently in a northwestern position! All Soldiers to assemble in squads! Repeat, all Students to evacuate planet! All Soldiers to assemble!"  
  
Min could only stare, wordless. Nothing like this, in all Irken history, had ever happened. As he stared at the footage being aired, Cerol's fevered words came back to him, almost taunting his helplessness.  
  
.... Lidge has to stop... two days... then uthane and ahki mix... hundreds die....  
  
Cerol... Cerol had been right. He'd been right and they hadn't been able to do a single thing. Now... oh Irk...! Now what would happen? Already, a flood of panic was spreading throughout the room. Irkens were fleeing to their voot runners, teachers holding their terrified students close to them, to protect them as best they could. Students... Teachers... Oh IRK!   
  
Pira!  
  
The Upriser's med center, in order to protect itself from being traced, had no way of hearing the broadcast. There were no holo sets in the entire building. They would have no idea what was happening until the Invader was upon them. And he would be, judging from his path. The med center would be demolished, and everyone within would perish.  
  
His hands clenched. No! It was too late for some, but he wouldn't allow it to be too late for those he loved. Dimly, he could hear Lidge calling his name, fearing his intentions as he calmly turned on a heel, hastening to the roof's voot docks. He didn't care who knew what he was doing. No one was going to stop him from keeping his promise to Pira. Not this time.   
  
~~~~   
  
Min's arrival was greeted by a flurry of panic. The med workers ran, some on their robotic legs, to get valuable patients and equipment into the safety of the varse runners. The young mechanic was drafted instantly to help. He found himself doing everything from packing file disks to loading unconscious Irkens into the transports. As soon as a transport was filled to almost beyond capacity, it took off, blasting away as if the crazed Invader were firing on them. Not surprisingly, the med workers had moving patients down to a science.   
  
The upper floors were evacuated first, as they were more likely to be targeted than the lower floors, the most critical patients being moved before any of the others. Min had managed to hook up his voot radio to the PA system, giving the entire place constant updates on the Invader's position and speed. So far, over a hundred buildings had been completely obliterated, the condition of their occupants unknown, and Soldier squads were unable to halt the Invader's march. It was a seemingly hopeless situation.  
  
"Min!"  
  
He turned from the stretcher he'd been loading into a varse on the rooftop docking bay. A med worker was running up to him, pale. "Yeah?" he asked, fearing the answer. The Irken on the stretcher watched him, eyes wide. Min attempted a smile for the injured Irken's sake.  
  
"We have all the patients moved... accept a few who are nearly recovered. We're out of varses." Despite the worker's obvious panic, his voice remained calm. "I'm going in this varse... but... your voot..."  
  
"Done. Where are they?"  
  
"The ninth floor, room 943."  
  
He was already on his way down. The PA in the elevator gave announcements that were a cause for panic. The Invader had increased his speed and was encroaching on their position. He would arrive in a matter of minutes.   
  
It seemed as if the elevator moved slowly on purpose, delaying his arrival until the last possible moment. Once the doors opened, nothing could have stopped him from getting to the room as fast as his robotics could carry him. He should have been prepared for what he found in that room. Life had thrown him so much, why shouldn't he have known? But when the door opened, despite what he'd seen all his life, Min almost fell to his knees, defeated and ready to finally give up.  
  
"Teacher Kaalae!"  
  
He could only stand there, rigid, as Pira reached towards him, her face pleading for a hug. Kaml was perched on the edge of his bed, masked fear deep in his eyes. There were three other Irkens in the room, none of which Min knew, all of which were making no attempt to hide their fear. Six in all, counting him. A voot only held five at the most. Cold fear started to settle in his chest as, already, the vibrations from the Invader's robot could be felt.   
  
Kaml pushed himself up, wincing slightly from his nearly healed injury. "Our turn...?" he asked gently.   
  
"The... the varses are all gone..." Min choked. Faces paled. "I... I have my voot... that's all..." Hysteria nearly broke out.  
  
"Six Irkens can't fit in a voot runner!"  
  
"We're all going to die here!"  
  
Pira was crying, feeling the collective fear of the room. Her teacher went to her side, trying to keep his own tears from showing as he held her close. His mind was racing. There had to be a solution... He'd come so far to keep Pira safe, failed so terribly that fate couldn't possibly allow him to fail again.   
  
"Oh IRK! I see it!"  
  
"Mother save us all..."  
  
The solution, the potentially deadly solution came to him. "Kaml..." His surrogate teacher was by his side quicker than Min could have expected. "Kam... I need you to take Pira and the others... My voot is on the roof." Min's voice was tight.  
  
"Mother of...! Min... There's got to be another--"  
  
"I've made up my mind." The vibrations were too strong now. "Hurry Kam! Before it gets here!" He kissed Pira's forehead, hugged her close, then handed her over to Kaml's arms. "You know my codes. Keep her safe."  
  
Kaml choked. "I will... Min... I..." He broke off, unable to continue. Turning away, he yelled for the others to follow him before darting out the door. Pira cried out, reaching back for Min as she was pulled away. The door closed and Min was alone.  
  
Silence overwhelmed him once they were gone. Only the thunder of the marauding Invader kept him from going crazy over the quiet. He prayed Kaml could keep his student safe, even when Min had failed miserably. He didn't care now. He could die, no one would care. Not Pira, she would be thankful he'd died, no one would be there to allow her to get hurt. Kaml wouldn't, he hadn't wanted a second student anyway. Lidge would be glad her constant annoyance was gone.   
  
When a shuddering blast shook the building, Min didn't cry out, even when he was thrown against the wall behind him. The wall that looked out over the street below had been sheered clean off, showing the torso of the Invader's robot. For a moment, he lay still in the dust and rubble, hardly believing what was happening. He really was going to die.   
  
And his name with him.   
  
All at once, his conversation with Regert came back to him. He had to live. He had Pira, he had the Kaalae name. Slowly, he got to his feet, staring at the firing robot. In his gloved hand was a sharp steel rod, a piece broken from the ceiling. He'd been powerless to keep Pira safe so far, helpless to stop Lidge from killing, so, what could he do in the face of Imperial technology? How could he stop something huge squads of Soldiers could not?   
  
The building began shuddering around him. Carefully, Min approached the abrupt edge. He studied the robot. It looked simple enough... there had to be someplace on it where you could power the shields down exteriorly. He was a mechanic, he could find it. If he couldn't find it, he didn't deserve to have his name, he didn't deserve Pira. He hadn't lived up to the expectations that came with the Kaalae name. He'd been the opposite. Tried to avoid the responsibilities in an attempt to be nothing like his original teacher had been. And he'd failed. He didn't care if he died or not, no one would miss him, but... he would prefer it if he lived.   
  
His robotic legs came out, bracing him as the rest of the building started to collapse around him. The panel would be on the torso, somewhere in the back. Min tensed, aiming...  
  
And then he leapt out into the abyss. 


	9. Don't Tell Me We're Forgiven

Chapter Nine  
Don't Tell Me We're Forgiven  
  
  
"Our efforts have been in vain, it seems. But it is not too late to stop this slaughter! Irk is ours! We protect it to our deaths!"  
  
There was a thunder of cheers from the ranks of the Uprisers. They had stayed behind after a call-to-arms from Lidge. They knew of the Soldiers' failures. They knew what they had to do. Their minds had built that robot, their memories could destroy it. They knew Min was out there, alone, trying to do the work of many by himself. They knew he would die unless they acted.  
  
All they had to do was convince the Tallest to give them the means to do so. Convincing them would not be easy, considering how the Uprisers intended to meet with them.  
  
Lidge gave the signal, and the entire able force of Uprisers moved out.  
  
  
  
  
Nothing had ever made him this nervous before. Not the blasted Uprisings, not war, not Impending Doom's launch... nothing. But as he stared now out the huge windows at the mass destruction before him, Red felt nothing by helplessness. The reports had been brought to both Tallests, bringing them grim news. The Soldiers were powerless. He had never lost faith in his Class's ability to rescue his planet in times of crisis. Though... now...   
  
His fingers clenched around the windowsill. Being powerless was completely new to him. He hated it. He loathed it. There was nothing he could do to help his race. Nothing his Class could do. Nothing, save abandon the planet... their home.   
  
Abandon Irk?  
  
How dare anyone dream of doing that! How dare they decide to admit defeat so easily and leave the only true home they had without a fight!   
  
"Why aren't the tactics WORKING!?" he snapped, smashing a fist into the windowpane. The plexiglass rattled under the assault but did not even bend. It was made to stay strong against even the more well muscled Soldier blow. This was Red's way of coping with the enormous frustration before him. He knew no, nor did he wish to practice, any other method. Purple's way, he knew from experience, was to grab the nearest stiff drink and stare hopelessly out the huge windows. "We DRILL on this sort of slarking stuff first Academy YEAR! And EVERY year AFTER that!"   
  
Purple took another drink of Amrinae. It wasn't a casual sip, as it usually was, but a hasty, panicky gulp from a bottle held in shaky hands. "We should blow it up..." he hissed faintly, alarm in his wide violet eyes. "Shoot it, do SOMETHING! Irk, I told you I didn't like that thing! Why did we have to use it!?"  
  
"None of our weapons, or any weapons we've heard of can hurt that thing! The shielding is too heavy! That's the whole reason we BUILT IT!" Now Red beat his head against the glass. "BLAST IT!"  
  
"Is there... anything we CAN do...?" Purple muttered. "If it's that strong... Irk, Red it's hopeless..."  
  
Fierce crimson eyes locked on his. "Slark you!" Red snapped. "Blast me to Blorch if I let some psychotic short thing destroy my entire planet!"  
  
The other Tallest's antennae fell back. He backed against a purple wall hanging, seeming to want to hide in it... anything to avoid Red's wrath. Fortunately for him, the whole of the Soldier's frustration was being taken out on the hapless window. Purple swore he could see a crack forming in the glass. He was seriously considering finding some sort of sedation for Red when the door buzzed. The Soldier Tallest whirled to face it, as if the door were some sort of attacker that he had not noticed before. Purple reacted with less aggression.   
  
An average sized scholar stepped in. There was a deep cut on her forehead, allowing blood to drip into the tan eyes. She leaned heavily on the doorway, obviously in pain. "Sirs... Uprisers... they're in... they've gotten into the building..." she gasped. "They... they demand an audience with you..." Her eyes rolled back in her head.  
  
Surprisingly, Red caught her before she fell. He didn't want to know why she was still on Irk, or how she'd been wounded. Silently, he held her out to Purple, his eyes narrowed. "Get a bandage on her head..." he growled.  
  
"You're letting them in." Purple took the limp body holding her so no blood leaked on him.   
  
"Watch me. They have a good reason for hanging around here after Evac. was ordered. I intend to hear it. You can leave if you want. No sense in both of us being executed by them."  
  
In minutes, the room was nearly filled with black-clothed, black-eyed Irkens. Each were armed with a stun blaster, each stayed respectfully behind a tall female with a white Student symbol on her black uniform. She stood directly in front of the Tallest, staring up at them boldly. After a moment, she knelt in a sweeping bow. The rest of the Uprisers followed her, some in shock. Her face to the floor, she addressed them. "Sirs. We know we are in violation of so much, but, believe us, we have our share of adequate reasons," her tone was polite to the extreme, edged with subtle force.   
  
Red frowned. "We'd like to hear them, if your ladyship would care to explain them..." He folded his arms, daring her to look him in the eye.   
  
"We... we realize how great of a crime we have committed in the Uprisings. We know we should, by all laws, be punished dearly for it." Black eyes locked with Red's accepting his dare and boring into him. "But what we also realize is that the Invader cannot be stopped unless we act. We cannot act without the proper weapons, which you have the authority to grant to us." Her eyes dropped. "Also... one of our own has taken it upon himself to try and stop the Invader alone... We... we cannot allow him to die when we are able to save his life..."  
  
At this, Purple allowed himself a small nod of agreement. He glanced at Red, watching the other Tallest's antennae move. He wasn't thrilled. In fact, he looked half ready to physically throw all the Uprisers out the window, despite the strength of the glass.   
  
"I'll make you traitors a deal," Red said slowly, choosing his words cautiously. "If you can take care of the Invader and then hand over your leader to us, we will make some of the changes you want. But, if you don't succeed and don't produce your leader... you will all be executed. Once Irk is restored to normal, that is."  
  
There was a quiet murmur among their ranks. The female at the head of the groups seemed to consider Red's words only briefly before she chose. Once they'd quieted, she spoke up. "We... we agree, sir," she said, her eyes shut and her antennae flat. "By Irk, we agree."  
  
The Soldier actually smiled. It was a slightly sardonic smile, but a smile nonetheless. "Then let's get you some lazers and get out there."  
  
  
  
  
  
He hadn't thought he'd make it. He'd thought he would miss, plummet to his death and take the Kaalae name with him to his grave beneath a gray flower. But fate, fate and the traits attributed to his name, made his robotic legs splay out, grasping for any secure surface. It made them latch into a crevice in the robot's armor plating, holding him securely against the metal. The robot's shields protected it against lazer assault, not against a tiny Irken body. It was the one design flaw Min knew about. He'd heard Lidge talking about it to some other Upriser of some importance. For once, he thanked her aggravating devotion to her cause.  
  
The robot moved quickly, causing him to swing sporadically with each step it took. More of his robotic legs hooked into the crevice. Eventually, Min was stable enough to assess his situation. He shoved the metal rod into his boot and surveyed his positioning. On any Irken-made machine that required an interior driver, there were both exterior and interior access panels. The exterior was placed as a safety precaution in case the driver was trapped inside. An Irken trained as a mechanic or technician was able to open the panel, shut down the vehicle, and rescue the driver. He just had to find it, tweak some wires and his task would be done. Stopping the thing was out of the question. You could override the stop command from inside... but if the shields were deactivated... he was sure it would buy a Soldier squad enough time to get the thing on the ground in pieces before the Invader could reset his shields.   
  
Most likely, it would be in a place not easily accessible to an attacking enemy. That ruled out his previous assumption of it being on the thing's torso. Thus it would be small, and in an odd position. He wasn't sure exactly where he would find the panel. No mechanic in West Jihi had really studied the plans for this thing, as most of those in charge had been too busy running the Uprisings to pick one up from the distributor's.   
  
He hung on, even as the robot whirled, firing on some unfortunate Soldier squadron. The heat from its blasters was clearly felt, even though no part of Min's biological body touched the actual robot. His eyes darted for any possible place. Anywhere. That panel had to be here somewhere...  
  
His eyes locked on the robot's blaster. Where else wouldn't an enemy dare look that an Irken would? Min shivered. Heat waves rose from it and it moved constantly as the Invader aimed, then fired on any structure still standing. There it was, near the barrel of the attached gun, a small, upraised panel. His spirit sank to his boots. How was he supposed to get near it now? The temperature of the blaster alone was enough to burn him alive. Who knew how hot the surrounding metal would be?   
  
Grimly, Min rose up higher on his robotic legs, clinging to the wildly swiveling arm. He hoped this height would keep him safe while he worked, and that his presence would go unnoticed. Trying desperately not to look at the ground, he approached the panel cautiously. Heat seared into him as the blaster went off. Min tried not to cry out, pushing forward determinedly. Once, the arm swerved so unexpectedly that he almost fell off. Only his robotic legs saved him. For a long while, he clung there, his pulse racing so badly he could hear it above the groan and squeak of the robot's movements. Glancing down brought him back from his fear. He could see a small mass of black moving towards their position.   
  
Uprisers...? Here...? Min scrambled, regaining his place along the arm, hurrying to open the panel. If the Uprisers came before he was finished, they would all be killed! His friends... his Class... Min couldn't take any more slaughter.   
  
He drove a mechanical limb deep into the place he assumed the panel was located. Heat ate through his uniform and he could feel blisters forming on his skin. Feverishly, he worked, grasping the leg in his hands, moving it both with the strength of his will and body. He could feel the metal warming too quickly in his hands. After a long while, the panel creaked open, its hinges almost ripped off by the force of Min's exertions. Now, abandoning his fear, Min crouched closer to the blaster that should have been considered a small sun. He could hardly make out the engraved Irken script written neatly on the various wires and buttons. There! Shielding! It was a small, plain bunch of wires that were easily missed. A wave of triumph surged through him as he reached down to sever them with a flick of the half-melted robotic leg.  
  
The arm jerked. Off-balance, Min fell, his limbs grasping for any hold that would save him and finding none.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
"Hold positions!"  
  
Behind her, the Uprisers stopped, crouching hidden among bits of rubble. A building had toppled here quite recently, providing them with ample cover for their wait. This was the place that the remaining Soldier squads would meet them. Lidge gripped her blaster tighter. She wasn't afraid the Tallest would go back on their word, they were too important to do that. Soldiers on the other hand... She cast a glance up at the robot. Its arm jerked, then settled back down into regular motion.   
  
"They always look smaller from far away..." Regert murmured, taking a position next to her. "Idiots. Building something that powerful and not having a good way to stop it. Slarking Soldiers..." He eyed her. "You didn't have to turn yourself in, you know... we could have taken this thing out without their help--"  
  
"Be quiet Regert!" Lidge snapped, antennae flicked in and eyes blazing. "Be quiet and wait."  
  
They didn't have long to wait. A Soldier squad slipped among them, its members filling in small gaps in their ranks that the Uprisers had not noticed. Their commander approached Lidge, his dark red eyes darker in grief. His cloak was stained with dust and rose-colored blood. "Commander..." he acknowledged, lowering his antennae briefly in her direction before crouching down beside her. "We have the weapons, you have knowledge of how to beat this thing. Can we work together...?"  
  
"That all depends, Rael," she answered curtly.   
  
"On what?"  
  
"On whether or not your Soldiers will obey my orders."  
  
He nodded slightly, eyes glinting over the mask. "I can assure you that any Soldier in my ranks will listen to you. They respect you for how you fought during the Uprisings."  
  
Lidge considered this a moment. "All right. Now we just have to wait..."  
  
"For more reinforcements?" Rael gave a hollow laugh. "We're the only ones who cared to help you, Commander."  
  
"I know." Black eyes studied the mutilated piece of an apartment she hid behind. The wallpaper let her know that it had been an blue-eye's... Silently, she hoped they weren't cowering in the remains of Jendai's old building. It would break her into hundreds of shattered pieces if it was. "We're not waiting for reinforcements, Commander Rael..."  
  
"Then why don't we attack?"  
  
Now she stared out at the towering robot, a lingering sadness in her gaze. "One of our Class is up there... on the robot... trying to halt it so we may have a fighting chance... we have to wait until we know he's done it."  
  
Rael sighed. "With all due respect, that does not sound like a workable plan, Commander."  
  
"It's all we've got. And I doubt you really want to go up against that thing when it has full shields."  
  
He nodded again. "I will tell my ranks to wait for your signal..." Briefly, he glanced up at the robot and shook his head. "May the Mother of Irk protect that Student's soul..."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Everything hurt. All he wanted to do was crawl into a hole and await the end. Kaml could give Pira her name. He'd do that for his adopted student. But if he were to wait for the end... how were the hundreds of deaths resulting from the robot's continued rampage to be avoided? Min couldn't let anyone else die.   
  
One of his robotic legs was gone, ripped off by the fall. It hurt just as bad as it would have if the limb had been real flesh, and not metal. A number of bruises and blistered burns covered him. He climbed through the pain, back up the torso where he'd managed to find a hold. Back along the arm, back to the searing heat. Limping, he approached the hole where the panel had been. Min smiled faintly. It would be simpler this time, and he would accomplish his mission. No one else would have to die. He glanced down hurriedly, looking for the Uprisers, wanting them to be there when he made his triumph.   
  
They were gone.  
  
Shocked, Min looked longer, harder, for any sign of them. Nothing. Nothing but a newly fallen building where he'd last seen them. No. It couldn't be! They couldn't be dead! But... how else could they have vanished so quickly? His mind, warped by pain, fatigue and stress, could devise no other likely solution. He'd failed. All his friends had died... because he'd been too slow to save them. He stared, horrified at first. As he looked on, gripping the arm tightly with his remaining robotic legs, his horror turned to rage mingled with all-consuming hatred.   
  
Fighting to keep himself in check, he stood over the panel's hole, locating the right wires once again. He stared down at the gray lengths of twisted cord, sweat and tears running down his face. A few of the blisters on his face began to bleed, dripping blood down onto the wires he stared at. In a violent motion, he slammed the pipe from his boot down into the panel hole, not caring what he hit or how much damage he did. He wrenched it, pried parts loose and sent them sailing down to the ground far below him. Each vindictive rip was accompanied by a shudder from the robot, as well as a pained cry from Min. He could feel the pipe melting in his hands, the hot metal mixing with his burned gloves. Savagely, he kept tearing at it, until at last, he saw the flicker of the shields as they finally gave out and died.  
  
Of their own accord, his hands ripped away from the pipe, the metal taking away bits of flesh and glove. Relief flooded Min, washing away the hot lust for revenge. He closed his eyes, feeling his grip on the robot's arm slip until it gave way. Min fell, limp, to the ground. Halfway down, his robotic legs emerged to break his fall. The three slender limbs saved their master from his death, but in doing so caused their own. Each one shattered as it touched the ground, leaving Min lying amongst their shards, and the shards of devastated buildings.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
The huddled mass saw too easily the death of the shields. At Lidge's command they leapt eagerly from their hiding, both Classes mingling to gather weapons, rally one another and fire. Those with the hardest-hitting distance weapons remained by the shelter of the decimated building, firing in columns. The rest charged forward, aiming their blasters at more crucial points-such as the robot's legs or joints. Red and black uniforms swarmed across the distance separating them from their target, both checking, worriedly, for survivors and shooting.   
  
It never faced them. The whole while they ran, its back was turned to them, its arms making feeble motions, as if it wanted to run away. At the head of the charge, Lidge stopped, Rael pulling up beside her. A few of the fighters stopped as well, but were quickly urged onwards by either commander. It was a melee. Irkens tripped over one another in their eagerness to stop this thing. Above, you could hardly see anything, save for a mass of blaster fire. The robot wavered on its feet. Anyone could see it was feeling the strain of withstanding a constant barrage. "Pull back!" Lidge ordered. "It's going to fall! PULL BACK!"  
  
There was a grinding, moaning sound as the metal of the robot seemed to almost decay under the fire. Irkens scrambled back, hurrying to get away. A Soldier tripped, only to be hauled to her feet by a Student duo. Some were blinded by smoke, and had to be led out of danger by those of the same and the opposite Class.  
  
Its torso exploded.   
  
Fire, metal and smoke were everywhere. Those caught too close to the blast were thrown forwards into their fellow Irkens, or into bits of rubble. Irken cries filled the air. Lidge found herself on the ground, covered by Rael. The Soldier held onto her, preventing her from being injured as best he could. She gripped his uniform. Until the blast subsided, it didn't matter what Class anyone came from. The stronger dropped to cover the weakened, the faster pulled the slower out of the way, and the older yanked the younger away from harm. It was survival, nothing matter save your life, and the lives of your fellow Irkens.   
  
Gradually, chaos descended into a form of order. Heads lifted, frightened eyes assessed damage, and antennae swiveled for any sign of a survivor nearby. Rael allowed Lidge to stand as well, his mask hanging by mere threads to the rest of his uniform. Dust had turned his green skin a light tan and his dark eyes were clouded. There were small tears on his back, tears that cut through his uniform, some drawing small trails of blood. "Thank you," she muttered, biting her lip.   
  
Rael only nodded. "Let's get them up... we need to get the wounded out, and search for any survivors."  
  
"I'll contact the Tallest. They'll want to know. I'll ask them to bring med-teams down from orbit."   
  
"And I will tell you if we find your friend... Alive or dead..." Rael moved off into the still-settling dust, his cloak dragging through the rubble. Lidge could hear him giving orders. His tone never changed, no matter if he was speaking to Soldier or to Student. That was just how Rael was though. She turned her back to the charred shell of a robot, and began contacting her leaders.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
It wasn't the blast that sent him into unconsciousness. It was the heavy sheet of metal dropped on him by the blast. He could feel it crushing him down into the ground before he lost contact with the conscious world. Therefore, he had no idea of anything that had happened, or how long he lay there, until he was awoken by the scrape of rubble being moved.   
  
A haze of pain settled across his vision. He was lying on his back, the pain of broken limbs, both robotic and not, paralyzed him. The skin on his face felt as if it were bubbling. He shut his gray eyes and concentrated on getting his voice loud enough for whoever was digging to hear. At first, all that would come was a raspy croak even Min could barely hear. The mechanic kept trying, willing himself to be louder, to make his voice heard. There was a pause accompanied by startled shouts and the skittering sound of robotic legs over rubble. He quieted briefly. Had they heard him? They must have, else they wouldn't have called for help. Gradually, light from above pierced into his eyes, forcing him to close them. "I'm here..." he whispered, trying his best to make his voice heard. "I'm alive...!"  
  
"Mother of Irk!" He heard one voice shout.   
  
"Rael! Captain! We found him!" cried another.   
  
There were a few moments of indiscernible conversation before a new, calm voice spoke down to him. "Min Kaalae?"  
  
His lips moved in a faint echo of the word "yes". Eventually, he found his voice. "Yes..." he hissed as best he could.   
  
"Hold on... we're bringing the med-team over here... you'll be all right. Don't fall asleep." Min faintly heard a swish of cloth as the speaker left. He tried to obey the order not to fall asleep, but it was so hard... He hurt so badly... What could a little sleep hurt an ailing body? He found himself relaxing into a semi-conscious state once more.   
  
Shortly after, the mechanic woke with a jolt. The great weight on his body was gone. He was being lifted into a varse runner that was already filled with other injured Irkens of mixed Classes. A few looked at him, their different colored eyes huge with pain, fear, loss, or even a twinge of respect. Someone was standing over him, analyzing him carefully. Gentle hands guided him back down when he raised his head. "Don't. You'll be okay... just rest now."  
  
"Lidge..." he mumbled. "Uprisers...?"  
  
"She's okay... so are most of the Uprisers..." the Irken he assumed was a med-worker stroked his antennae soothingly. "Don't move around now... you're going to a med-center... it's all right now."  
  
He nodded slightly. "Can I sleep...? Tired..."  
  
"Go ahead... if you take a bad turn, I'll be here to bring you out of it..."  
  
The mechanic nodded again, slipping into a dreamless sleep.  
  
  
  
  
  
His hand was limp, covered by many thin bandages to keep the remaining skin intact. There was no movement from the severely damaged body, save the gentle rising and falling of breath from a bare chest. Sitting beside someone who was half a corpse was not a place one would normally wish to spend his or her time, unless you were Lidge Tikem. She sat by her old friend, gently stroking her fingers across the back of his shredded palm. It didn't surprise her in the slightest that he lived. Kaalaes, in her experience, could take the worst physical punishment and still be able to open their eyes to make a joke or comment on how they missed their ahki.   
  
She felt guilty. More so than when Kaml was shot. This time, it wasn't just her teacher, it was her dear friend and countless others.   
  
How on Irk was she supposed to have known Cerol was right? That what the other mechanic had ranted had been more than just insane babblings? Min had told her, that was how. He'd told her, and she hadn't listened to a single syllable of his speech. There had to be some explanation why she had refused to listen to him. Why she would fly into a rage over some cause, completely disregarding the lives of her friends, her teacher and her race. Lidge lightly pressed Min's hand to her cheek. There was a slight warmth in his hand that comforted her. What vice of hers had egged her on like this?   
  
Revenge.  
  
Lidge bit her lip. She could see it now. She had wanted revenge on the other Class so badly... Wanted it so badly it had blinded her to all else but the sweetness of obtaining that seemingly forbidden article. It wasn't the first time an emotion had hindered her judgment. Years ago, her bizarre love for someone constantly kept her from seeing his great faults, and his accidental involvement in the plot that had gotten him banished.   
  
But the thought of overpowering emotions brought up another track in her mind. She knew her actions had been in response to her love for another. Still, the question lingered, taunting her and daring her to answer it. Who had she been avenging? Her Class? Wikki's death had definitely had a traumatizing effect on Lidge's younger self. She could clearly recall almost every detail of that awful night. Everything from Rikea's twisted grin of pleasure to how long the pauses were between drops of blood from Shil's wound to the floor. As much as she was traumatized by this, something about it didn't really seem to fit with the urge for vengeance she felt.   
  
Maybe... she had been avenging... Jendai...  
  
Involuntarily, her hand tightened around Min's. His eyelid's flinched slightly at the pressure, then soon lapsed back into healing sleep. Oh dear Irk how he reminded her of his teacher! His walk, his actions... nearly everything he did was similar to Jendai's way of doing things. She sighed heavily. Thinking back on her actions though... it was highly likely her whole endeavor had merely been to right the wrongs done to someone she would never see again, and had never even realized her feelings toward him. If she had not known him, had not felt for him, her bizarre righteous rage would never have manifested itself. She had thrown her life away in the name of someone all of Irk had forgotten. She had let so many others do the same... none of them even knowing why they truly fought.   
  
She was going to rot in prison for this. They would kill her, she knew it. They would execute her for treason. Her life was going to be cut short in the name of a vengeance that would never even be realized by the avenged party.   
  
Her tears fell unwillingly onto Min's bandaged hand. Worthless. All of it. Nothing was going to change, despite the masses dying for it. All the planning, all the fear, the work... it was all wasted. In her grip, injured fingers bent faintly, moving to hold hers gently. Lidge's antennae pricked. The mechanic stole a glance down at the bed, trying to hide her tears. Min's gray eyes stared up at her, hurting with a different ache than the one plaguing her at the moment.   
  
"You're here..." he murmured, fighting the pain so clearly etched in his face. Why more pain medication wasn't prescribed, Lidge wanted to find out, then correct as soon as possible. "You came to see me..." A faint flicker of a smile crossed his lips.   
  
Lidge smiled back, her cheek still pressed against his hand. "I'd come to see you if you were in a center halfway across the universe..."  
  
His smirk widened, then faded as recollections of the events that had brought him here came back. Pain flickered in his eyes. He looked at her urgently, brow furrowing. "How... did... did... I...? How many... died...?"  
  
"A lot..." she admitted after a while. "But..." Magenta eyes locked with gray. "more would have, if you hadn't been so brave."   
  
"The Invader...?"  
  
She fidgeted. Honestly, she didn't want to admit it to Min... but she'd been so wrong... Sighing, she tightened her hold on his hand again. "They... they found uthane in him..." she murmured. "A lot. But... it sort of saved him in a way. They're not killing him because of it..." Another pause. "Once he recovers, he's being banished to that food-planet for a long time."  
  
Min was silent. His eyes were dark, brooding. In the quiet, Lidge felt her gaze wandering across him. The blankets were arranged in such a way that they left his chest exposed. Although covered in a sealant to help heal his bruised and broken ribs, she was keenly aware of how he was built. Unconsciously, she felt her hand grip his even more. It came to her attention how close she'd been to losing Min forever... just as she had lost his teacher. If he'd died... what would she have done then?   
  
"Lidge...?"  
  
His words didn't register. Neither did the fact she was kissing him until she felt him stiffen at her touch. Her eyes flew open, almost as startled as Min was. A long, awkward pause hung in the air. Min's face was set in a stunned expression and he did not blink. Finally, hesitantly, she allowed her lips to brush his again. Min didn't flinch this time, though whether it was from fatigue or from returned affection, Lidge didn't care to find out. She kissed him harder. He suddenly jerked back from her, staring wide-eyed at the doorway.   
  
"Hmpf. Kaalaes and their love affairs. Couldn't wait until you could at least hold her without killing your hands, could you, Min?"  
  
Lidge turned towards the door, her face a strange pallid blush. The ex-boss of West Jihi stood there, leaning casually against the frame as his red eyes glinted playfully at the two. A small smirk was wound across his solid face. "Don't worry," he chuckled. "I'm not telling Kam a thing. Poor guy'd have a fit."  
  
Frightened, Min's breath came in little gasps. Regert's eyes lost all their mirth. "Calm him down, Lidge!" he ordered, hurrying to Min's side. "Make 'im breathe in a pillow or something! By Irk, I never should have said anything!" As he said this, Min's gasps turned to a dry, hoarse, laughter. Blush crept into his cheeks, the first color that had been there since Lidge had walked in the room. Regert clapped his hands. "That's my boy!" the ex-boss laughed.  
  
Lidge blushed too, squeezing the bandaged hand she still held.   
  
"Teacher!"  
  
"Lidgers!"  
  
"Hey, Kid."  
  
Without any ceremony, Kaml limped into the room, carrying an excited Pira. Shil supported her love at his right. The young female wiggled in his arms, despite her hip, holding her arms out to the bed containing her teacher. She had such a look of joy on her face that Min had to smile in return. Gently, Kaml handed Pira to him, reminding the little one to be careful with her teacher, that he was fragile and was easily broken. Min wrapped an arm around her, holding her as close to his battered body as he dared to. Pira carefully nuzzled his shoulder, purring in delight at seeing him again. There were tears on Min's cheeks as he held her, safe in his arms.   
  
  
  
  
There didn't seem to be any room for another Student body in the hall. Nevertheless, Shil ushered him in. Barely healed, Min's boots still stung the soles of his feet, and his hands smarted from the gloves he wore. His ribs hurt with every stride. He could only imagine the looks his burn-scarred face was getting. The scars weren't that noticeable though, unless you were looking for them. Shil tried to support him as best she could, but their differing heights made the effort a challenge.   
  
Nearly a month after the disaster of Impending Doom, the Tallest had decided it was time the Uprisers upheld their part of the bargain Lidge had made. A gathering had been called in the Tallest Complex's own meeting hall. Every Student or Soldier who had participated in the Uprisings was required to attend the meeting. It was here the Students hoped their ideals would be made into laws, and their leader made into a prisoner.   
  
Working his way through the crowd to an empty place, Min careened into someone. Pain spiked through him as his injuries were jarred. "Oh! MIN! Oh Irk, forgive me!" the other Irken turned to steady him.   
  
It was Swar Aman.  
  
Min swallowed heavily. "I... it's all right... Swar..." he muttered. Why was she, of all Irkens, here? She was the one Student Min never would have pictured being involved in this insanity. And where had Shil run off to?   
  
"Good to see you up and around, Min," the scholar said warmly, giving him a very careful hug. More quietly, she added. "Purple asked me to. Scholar work... nothing else..." Her voice was reassuring to him. "Don't worry..."  
  
He nodded, a hint of a smile on his scarred face. "Thank you, Swar. Thank you so much..."  
  
She released him, looking up at him with an expression of tenderness teachers gave their beloved students. "You're welcome, Min Kaalae," Swar murmured. "I will make sure all of Irk knows how you earned your name. I promise." With one last, careful hug, she slipped away into the crowd, her cape making no noise as she moved.  
  
Eventually, he found a seat next to Cerol. The other mechanic looked emaciated, dark, black circles under his eyes and hallows in his face that should not have been there. His good eye locked on Min's face as the barest flicker of an emotion similar to happiness lingering in his features. "You're alive," he whispered. His voice was small, shaky, a thin shadow of the cool, composed aloofness it had once held. "Thank Irk..."  
  
"Hard to keep us Kaalaes down," Min joked. "We keep popping up, like rat people."  
  
This earned a hard laugh from Cerol. Though, it sounded more like a choked bark than a laugh. Maybe the disaster had hit the poor guy harder than Min had originally thought. He didn't have time to say more before the meeting was called to order.  
  
Guards marched onto the platform first, their blasters openly displayed at their hips. Soon after, without their usual ceremony, the Tallest followed. Their faces were set in stone. Red's eyes glittered with a feeling carefully hidden emotion, while all traces of feeling were hidden from view on Purple's face. Swar Aman attended both, standing at a respectable distance. "This is much better," Red began, folding his arms irritably. "I can see all of your eyes this time."  
  
A quiet murmur came from the crowd.   
  
"Fine then, let's get this over with," growled the Soldier Tallest.   
  
Purple cleared his throat, studying a datapad in his hand. "You wanted changes, and we've made them," he said cautiously. "We'll read them now, and afterwards..."  
  
"You hand over your slarking leader to us, providing he isn't hiding like a little coward," interjected Red, his voice harsher than usual.   
  
The crowd agreed, their voices low and nervous. After they had quieted down, Purple began to read again. He kept his voice purposely monotone, expressing neither favor nor dislike for any of what he read.   
  
"Firstly... any Soldier accused and convicted of Student abuse will be publicly humiliated and imprisoned. Any further offenses will increase prison sentence and increase the likelihood of permanent banishment.  
  
"Secondly, Students and Soldiers will be considered equal in all situations of political standing. Special measures will be taken to ensure that this will happen. Any tampering with the new system-by either Class-constitutes a moderate prison sentence. The same punishment applies to other actions of disregarding the law."  
  
The Tallest set the pad down, watching it with quiet eyes. He said nothing more. Red gave him a look before speaking. "That's it. Everything you wanted," he growled. "Now then... Where's your leader?"  
  
/Well I would like to think  
the world hasn't seen  
that all the best is still to come  
and I know life ain't easy\  
  
Min felt cold. He heard the words of the Tallest, but they somehow felt hollow, unreal. How could they just waive away the crimes all the Uprisers had committed in exchange for the life of a single female? How could they forget the horror of Impending Doom, and the plight of those left without a place to call home? Why would they pretend Irk was never damaged? He shifted his weight. The Tallest weren't the only ones trying to forget...   
  
/I pass them sleeping on the street  
With bloodstained hands and dirty feet  
And I can't ignore them  
Any more than I already have\  
  
"Come on. Quit being a frightened little smeet and show your face!" Red barked again. The Soldier's face was cold. His order was accompanied by a nervous mutter in the crowd. The Students waited impatiently for Lidge to gather her courage, showing each other false grins of hope. Many let time pass without daring to breathe. A few made the sign of the Mother of Irk, muttering quiet prayers to themselves.   
  
/So we laugh, and we smile  
and we play our games of sweet denial  
But don't tell me we're forgiven  
If we hold, all our breath  
If we kneel right down and just repent  
You can't tell me we're forgiven\  
  
He knew he had committed his share of heinous acts against his own kind. Vividly, he could remember the faces of the Soldiers met with and defeated by the business end of his blaster. Even when he'd tried to look away, he'd seen the same pain and hurt around him. He'd seen the same pain and hurt he felt within himself. The same things he'd seen in Lidge's eyes the day she was by his side and had kissed him so lovingly. Absently, he ran a finger over the scars he knew lay beneath his uniform, a testimony to the pain he'd felt. Scars almost like those his old teacher bore...  
  
/Start with me  
I cannot lie   
When my heart doesn't follow my eyes  
Turn away from all the suffering  
That surrounds   
our time on this earth  
for some their life has been a curse  
I say I'm sorry and I should change  
You know it just could be me someday\  
  
Lidge was on her way up to the platform by now. Her jaw was set, her antennae flat against her skull. There were tears in her eyes. Min reached for her as she passed him, but Cerol gently held him back. He was forced to watch her climb the short stairway, alone. There was no one able to help her, comfort her, or be with her now. It made Min's chest ache. Lidge had been given a zeal for life... a gift rendered vanished by her lust for revenge. The repercussions of her actions had caught her and were holding her in place for judgment by crimson and lavender eyes. Despite how much it hurt, Min's hands clenched into fists.  
  
/There's no way out of here  
I don't want to die and leave it all behind  
Each day a part of me disappears  
But who am I to judge what's been sent from above?\  
  
"Sirs... I am the leader... Lidge Tikem..." she murmured the lines she'd had memorized for weeks. "Here I am before you... Do with me as you will..."  
  
The Tallest stared down at Lidge, their gazes slightly uncomprehending. It was Red who recovered first. "Fine. It's about time you showed up." He scrutinized her. "Let it be known, to all Students and Soldiers that your punishment was my decision and mine alone. Purple had no involvement in this at all. If he'd had his way, you'd get off without any consequences."  
  
Not surprisingly, the other Tallest made no comment in his defense. This meeting had thrown him into the same morose mood as the rest of his Class.  
  
"Therefore," Red continued. "I give you the punishment of four years of imprisonment on Devastis."  
  
No one made a comment. No one moved. Lidge didn't give a single sign she had heard, until her shoulders slumped. Then, suddenly, she knelt before the Tallest, her body taught with a dejected grace. Stunned, there was another long pause. Red's eyes grew huge, while Purple's became tinged with even more remorse. In the audience, Regert Shrig copied Lidge. The rest of the Students followed suit, silently and solemnly.   
  
/We can't laugh, we can't smile  
When so much just ain't right  
It can't go on forever...  
If we hold our breath,   
If we kneel right down and repent   
You can't tell me we're forgiven...\  
  
Min's face was damp, and his shoulders shook as he leaned against the ground. His face was pressed into the carpeting alongside Cerol's. Both of them prayed, in small, wavering, voices, that this was the end of this madness. That soon, they could return to their lives again...  
  
/You can't tell me we're forgiven...\  
  
And that they were forgiven... 


	10. Four Years Later

Chapter Ten  
4 Years Later  
  
"Students, they will break your mind with their psychology and leave you a babbling shell, giving you no choice but to take your own life. Therefore, Students are by far the more dangerous of the two Classes of Irk. Despite this, it is a tragically common occurrence for such a dangerous Student to want, and to commit, suicide. For many, it seems the only way out of a repressed existence that was much too painful for the wretched individual to continue on living. And for the many who have committed this act, irony does not desert them, for, often, it seemed that a great, and wondrous change was only hours away from reaching them."  
-Scholar Ressut Trev, 322298  
"And it doesn't bother you in the slightest that you'll have to step down soon?"  
  
"Nope."  
  
"Oh come on! It does too, you old faker."  
  
"Hey, you'd be glad to pass on all the padwork too, if you were me."  
  
Min shook his head. "With that attitude, Regert, you should make the shortest Boss, instead of the Tallest," he laughed, taking a sip of his ahki. He felt lighthearted for the first time in a long while.   
  
Lidge was coming home today. Her four years on Devastis were over. Most of West Jihi had pitched in on their days off to keep her apartment and belongings in order during her time away, and now were celebrating on West Jihi's workfloor with well-earned drinks. Regert had, obviously, no problem with reinstating Lidge to her former position. He couldn't wait, in fact, to turn over the responsibility to the younger Irken. All he had to do was wait for her to arrive. He had even invited Swar Aman to join in the revelry. The slender scholar kept a hand on his thick arm most of the time, a bit unsure of herself among the ranks of the familiar celebrators. A glass of amrinae was perched daintily between her fingers.   
  
The party had spread up to the boss's platform, as some mechanics had become more and more impatient for Lidge's arrival. Min was one of them. He paced, his head nodded forward, studying the floor beneath him, and his hands twitching slightly with each step. Orange eyes followed him from their owner's perched position on the railing. Kaml sighed, tightening his hold on Shil's small waist. "She'll be here Min... don't you worry..."  
  
He looked up abruptly, gray eyes widening a fraction. "I'm not pacing because of her, Kam. Pira went-"  
  
"She went across the room."  
  
Now his eyes flashed. They calmed before he spoke again. "You'd never understand what's gone through my mind. Never. You'd never understand what my life has been like," Min muttered, making a visible effort to keep his voice level.   
  
Kaml just sighed, studying the toe of his boot. His student had been snappish of late, a condition the teacher had attributed to both Lidge's long absence, and the general moodiness Min had somehow absorbed from Jendai. Like teacher, like student, it was said, and no one ever questioned how it happened. Traits were constantly being passed down along name lines, gathering recognition until what one needed to describe a Student was, more or less, only his name. Kaml hoped this recent run of irritability would vanish as soon as Lidge showed up. He noticed Shil about to reprimand the smoldering gray-eye and quieted her with a frantic squeeze.   
  
"Teacher Kaalae!"  
  
It was the voice Min had been waiting for. He fairly sprinted to the head of the stairwell watching every limping step his student took with a worried look that was evident even in his posture. Eight years old now, Pira had learned to deal with her limp with an ease given to her through her robotic limbs. She was confident, moving up the stairs carefully, with a proud lift to her head. Turquoise eyes sparkled at those gathered on the platform. There was nothing visible in her face, or the way she carried herself that showed she had been defeated by the injury of four years past. It was quality, that untamable spirit, that heartened Min. It was the only trait of his name he wanted Pira to have, and she had adopted it. She reached him now, displaying a bottle of fruit juice for his approval. "It was the last one," she said, smirking sheepishly. "I dunno why. No one else here drinks it."  
  
On impulse, Min grabbed her, pulling her close. She squeaked, the high-pitched noise dissolving into a gentle laugh. "Maybe you drank them all, Pint-size," he whispered, trying to raise his voice a little. For a reason unknown to him, he felt a surge of pride towards his student, merely because she had done something as simple as walk up a staircase without tripping.  
  
"Probably," she agreed, rolling her eyes slightly. "There weren't even that many to begin with." Pira shot a soft smile towards Kaml, and the rest of those gathered on the platform. "Hey, when's she coming? They're getting restless down there."  
  
"That's an understatement..." a low voice replied. The group turned to the stairway, facing someone they hadn't noticed until now. Cerol Haye stood at the top of the stairs, taller, leaner, and more imposing than anyone had ever seen before. His good eye glittered in the light, sparkling coolly at them, while his blind eye stared through them, harder and far more distant than ever. "You don't want her to come. When she comes, there will be pain."  
  
For a moment, no one spoke, not even Min. The mismatched eyes flicked over each of them in turn, coming to rest on Pira's nervous face. In an instant, Cerol changed, his entire mannerism becoming one of calm friendliness, rather than the daunting air he'd had earlier. He walked over, gracefully, and set a light hand on the youngster's shoulder. "You look well, Pira," he said, softly, almost so as not to frighten her. She looked up at him, giving Cerol a timid smile. "I'm glad..."  
  
Shil's dark green eyes never left her former student. She worried about him more than ever now. He hadn't recovered from the incident of Impending Doom. There was always a haunted, terror-stricken look lingering in the backs of his eyes. Even when he seemed to be happy. Her hand tightened on Kaml's. He held her close in response. She wanted to go to Cerol. There had to be something she could do for him. Even something so mundane as to have him come to her apartment for a drink. Anything to chase that deeply rooted look of hurt in his eyes. Unfortunately, at the moment, her student had become involved in a muted conversation at the head of the stairs with Min, the gray-eye obviously attempting to do what Shil herself could not.   
  
"Don't worry," Kaml whispered, hopping lightly off the railing, supporting her all the while. "Min always cheers him up."   
  
It seemed to be true. Cerol's antennae had risen a bit, and he was more relaxed than Shil had seen him since Impending Doom. The two continued to speak until West Jihi's huge front doors swung open, hydraulics hissing, to reveal a ragged form with an escort that was nothing short of startling.   
  
The Lidge that entered the door was nothing like the one who had left. In fact, the only thing anyone could recognize about her was her uniform, freshly washed, with a few holes patched with material that wasn't exactly the same color as the rest of the garment. Her pants were threadbare, more gray than black, hanging on too-thin hips. No one said anything, but her boots were missing, her feet painted black to hide the lack of footwear. The bones in her face stood out, framing magenta eyes that still, despite her sentence, burned with a vengeful flame. Her antennae perked, she strode into the building, gazing around at the familiar faces, a slight smile forming on thin, pale lips. Behind her, the Soldiers under the command of none other than Rael nodded to the mechanics, and left, turning away on an unseen signal.  
  
Kaml was the first to her side, sweeping her up in an embrace that knocked her off her painted feet. Her arms wrapped around his neck, murmuring something quietly that only her teacher was able to hear. Min was next, grabbing Lidge in much the same fashion as Kaml had, the only difference being that Lidge pressed her mouth rather roughly against Min's and it was a longer time before they separated. More mechanics surrounded her, each one demanding a story, or a handshake, something to tell them that it really was Lidge that stood before them, and not some bizarre creature thrown in from a backwater planet.  
  
"There's so much I have to say," Lidge murmured, breathless at seeing them all once again. Joy sparked in her eye, undiminished by vengeance. "So much I have to tell you all." Her arms wrapped around Min again. The motion wasn't noticed, as chatter began again in earnest. Questions came, mostly about what the conditions had been like, and were answered with a teacher's patience that the Lidge who had left West Jihi had never possessed. The only time she did become annoyed was when someone mentioned Cerol Haye had attended the party. When closer inspection revealed that he had vanished again, Lidge settled back into a state of calm relief. She resumed answering questions until, at one point, Regert brought her an ahki. Lidge's eyes had lit up and the drink had to be taken from her momentarily to prevent her choking on it. This incident worried Kaml, but he refused to voice his concern. It was a happy occasion that shouldn't be marred by fears.   
  
It was then that West Jihi's main video line beeped, silencing the party.   
  
Confused voices rose, some demanding the beeping be silenced, others wanted to know who dared interrupt this celebration. Regert moved through the crowd, uttering little excuses, to get to the console. He pounded on it with a fist to televise the transmission to West Jihi's large screens. Orders were usually posted there on workdays. "West Jihi," he said, voice reverberating through the room. "We're closed today so if you could just wai-" Regert stopped mid-sentence. "Sir! Erm... what can West Jihi do for you?"  
  
Tallest Red's face appeared on the screens. This alone should have been enough to startle the viewers. Yet, what surprised them the most was his appearance. There were slight rims around both of his eyes, and his lower lip had a deep impression in it from the Tallest's own teeth. His red eyes were pale, worried by something other than the usual affairs of the Empire or the Armada. Red's voice was distant, monotone, as if his mind were not anywhere near their conversation. "Employees at West... Jihi workshop..." he began. He spoke heavily, careful to pronounce every word with painful, almost uncertain clarity. "It... It is with regret... that I have been charged to inform you of an... incident involving a... a previous employee."  
  
Several intakes of breath were heard at that. Lidge's gloved hand sought Min's. Scarcely anyone dared to move, lest it break the tension mounting in the room and bring the focus on them.   
  
"It was a week ago... that I... received the transmission from one Soldier Zim... who... brought us this news. It... seems that he was on the same planet as the previous employee... who was in exile..." Red's discomfort with the information was so obvious it frightened some of the younger mechanics. "Apparently... the... two of them were familiar with each other... and so... it... Zim... he felt it... necessary to... inform both Tallest Purple and... you," he gestured roughly to the assembled Irkens. "that the employee in question... er... by Irk, this is... difficult..."   
  
An apprehensive silence followed as Red gathered his thoughts for the main point of his transmission. The Students may as well have been made of stone for all they moved. There was not a fallen pair of antennae in the room.   
  
"Eh... the exile in question... Jendai Kaalae... took his own life a week ago."  
  
The reaction in the room was subtle, yet those who where there felt it instantly. An intake of breath was heard throughout the group. Hands were clasped as shock took hold of some, tears bitten back as grief overtook others. No one spoke a word, nor did they allow themselves to release any sobs. Not while Tallest Red looked down on them. He finally took pity on them, terminating the transmission, his antennae uncharacteristically flat against his head.   
Turmoil had subsided into silence when night fell over West Jihi. Almost everyone had gone home, retiring to their dreams to forget the day's events. It was a small consolation that some of them had been too drunk to even grasp the depth of the situation. For those who had been sober, however, the news was almost too much to bear. There were few employees who had not known who Jendai Kaalae was, and had not grieved for him when his banishment had been made known. They grieved for him more now.   
  
Lights from passing ground transports, as well as the shop's own exterior lamps cast long patches of illumination over the floor of the workshop. Inside, it was dark, save for the areas near the windows where the light filtered in. It was in one of these patches of light that two slim figures were framed, their eyes, gray and turquoise, glowing in the dimness. Before them was a small table that had been cleared of all tools, paperwork and other such debris. Resting on it now were several small holographs of the deceased mechanic, surrounded by a few stunted lumps of what had once been a waxy substance. The lumps had strips of oily rags shoved roughly into them, serving as wicks to keep the makeshift candles burning. Such a tribute had been Cerol's thickly voiced idea.  
  
The so-called candles cast a warm, comforting light across Min's deeply lined face. He could see why they had been used so many years ago for this sort of thing. The little flames danced, reflected in sunken gray eyes, lending what cheer they could to any observer. They were happy little flames, content to simply flicker where they stood, shining almost painfully into his eyes.   
  
Pira whimpered softly, snuggling closer to him. He stroked her antennae mechanically, his eyes riveted to the one picture on the table of Jendai smiling. Min's thoughts wandered desolately from one memory to another. He wasn't really thinking of anything in particular, just seeking an escape from his reality. Yet his thoughts kept coming back to Jendai. How short a time the pair of sad blue eyes had stared down at him, how his miscellaneous and bizarre creations were scattered across desks and tables at random, his teaching, however little of it Min had been subjected to... it all came back to him now.   
  
He looked down at Pira, her gloved hands each closed around a fistful of gray uniform, regarding her fondly. The heir to a legacy of suffering, she was. How would he be able to give her all that he had gotten from his Kaalae teacher? It didn't matter how long you were with a teacher. What mattered was what they taught you in the time you had with them. He would never be able to express his thanks to his first teacher. Never be able to show him Pira's abilities or her blatant determination, which he knew the deceased Kaalae would have admired. Now he knew he should have thanked him, that night in the eerily desolate jail cell, for more than just the name. If Jendai hadn't been banished... hadn't died... how would his bleak eyes view his student...?   
  
...What would you think of me now,  
so lucky, so strong, so proud?  
I never said thank you for that,  
now I'll never have a chance...  
  
For the first time in his life, Min found himself gazing skywards towards more than just the distant stars and vibrant moons. The fractured belief other Students had in the faded deity known as "The Mother Of Irk" had never seemed to hold anything worth his interest before. Now however, his gaze was reverted to whatever lay beyond the glittering suns of other worlds. For the sake of easing his grief, he had to believe there was something out there for the Irken souls to live in. Something safe, welcoming, and forever without the pain he knew Students so keenly felt. Maybe the "goddess" herself waited for you, to usher you down pathways free of earthly woes and needs. Fleetingly, he wondered if anyone else had come to the same thoughts and ideas as he had. Maybe if he let them know... some of Lidge's agonized tears would ebb.   
  
...May angels lead you in.  
Hear you me my friends.  
On sleepless roads the sleepless go.  
May angels lead you in...  
  
What would Jendai have thought of him? That nagging thought kept coming back, no matter how many times he tried to stave it off. The question haunted him now. It never had before, while he'd known his original teacher to be alive. Why now? It didn't make sense. Although... as he sat there, clutching Pira to him in the semi-darkness, a strange sort of idea started forming. All his life, he had tried in vain to be utterly and completely different from an Irken he had known all of three days. In realizing his failure, he had, subconsciously, become more like his teacher. Because of this, Min rationalized, he wanted approval or disapproval of any and all of his actions. Especially, his involvement in the Uprisings...   
  
...So what would you think of me now,  
so lucky, so strong, so proud?  
I never said thank you for that,  
now I'll never have a chance...  
  
By Irk, why did Jendai have to be as stupid and suicidal as the fanatics in the Uprising? He had left too many unanswered questions, too many loose ends, too many friends behind. It was the first moment, that Min could clearly remember that, he felt he truly needed his teacher with him, alive, safe and whole, to teach him and to guide him. He needed to talk to him, to explain himself to him. He'd known, all this time, deep in his subconscious, that he had been loved. Lidge had been loved, as had Kaml, Regert, Swar, and even Leeri, the traitorous female. For someone who had seen so much pain, he mused, his teacher had trusted so many. Thinking back, Min bitterly reflected that such a trust had ultimately led his teacher to his death.   
  
...And if you were with me tonight,  
I'd sing to you just one more time.  
A song for a heart so big,  
god wouldn't let it live...  
  
"Go home. You need sleep," his mind ordered. No... he wasn't ready to leave. He couldn't be tired yet. It was impossible to think that he could be subjected to such a mundane a need as sleep in this moment of lonely contemplation. There was too much he had neglected to mull over, too many thoughts left locked away in the vaults of memories repressed for a reason now unknown to him. But still... He had Pira to think of. She needed to be home. She needed to be as safe as he could keep her until they were finally forced to go their separate ways. Though, he vowed their separation would be far less painful than his had been. Carefully, he stood, holding her close to him. There would be plenty of time in the morning to talk, to ease the burden of their friend's parting.   
  
...May angels lead you in.  
Hear you me my friends.  
On sleepless roads the sleepless go.  
May angels lead you in...  
  
West Jihi's heavy doors parted a fraction to let him slip out. For a long, tense moment, he stood in the doorway, staring out at the street beyond. Out there, life continued at its safe frantic pace, oblivious to the tragedy that fractured so many seemingly normal lives. He stared up at the stars, the one place that seemed to quietly echo the sorrow of both Classes and those of West Jihi. There had been too many deaths of late, and the very stars themselves mourned each Irken's passing. All of it, in Min's mind, could be traced back to the strands of trust that wrapped themselves throughout one's brain. The Uprisers had trusted Lidge... and died. The Soldiers had trusted their commanders... and died. Jendai had trusted Leeri... and consequently... died. However, the stars trusted nothing. They were dimmed by the artificial lights of Irk, but were never fully extinguished. He supposed, they were the ultimate goal for an Irken. To be a star, to find the midpoint where trust and distrust aided you equally.   
  
He wished Jendai had found that midpoint. Then, maybe, all this death may have somehow been avoided. Then, maybe, the stars would not have to weep.   
  
...May angels lead you in.  
Hear you me my friends.  
On sleepless roads the sleepless go.  
May angels lead you in...  
  
Silently, he gave one careful glance backwards, towards the makeshift monument, a shadow from a passing transport hiding his face. There was more he would think about tomorrow... when Pira was safe at home, and all his duties as a teacher fulfilled. There was so much he wanted to say to Jendai... so much he never would...   
  
...May angels lead you in...  
  
Min Kaalae turned back towards the street and disappeared up the stairs to the voot docking bay, Pira asleep in his trembling arms. 


End file.
